May 21, 2013
On Sunday morning, Caryl and I walked the labyrinth for the first time. It was a wonderful experience. Though I'd been walking it throughout the process of building it, this was the first time I'd walked it with a different purpose. Caryl's reaction when she came out was heartwarming. Working the land was new and exquisitely wonderful for a visual artist whose primary medium is photography.
Labyrinth triangle and grotto
We had several visitors over the weekend. Saturday, Ya
Ya came up with her son Sol and young friends Yazmin and Alejandra. They
helped Alpha work on her piece up on the hill, played on their skateboards
and scooter for a while, and then came down to the labyrinth. The kids were great!
They took the wheelbarrow around the land, found enough pine cones to complete
a piece of the labyrinth details, then kept working till the cones were laid
out following Caryl's pattern.
Our Sunday visitors participated in Caryl's knockout
workshop on symbols, where she talked about her work with characters from the Adinkra
from Ghana. We used Adinkra to create our own symbols representing who we are
and who/how we want to be. These were later carried on the inaugural public
labyrinth walk and placed in the center grotto.
Some folks worked with Anita making clay oval-shaped disks
to be incorporated into Alpha's piece, a tribute to Mama Crecy's people and
Sally Alpha', which is growing daily as she works to realize her vision.
Caryl also worked on and finished boiling the bark and leaves, mixing them with slip from Anita's pottery workshop. (I'll leave the practical details to her…so let us know if you want to know more.) Then, late in the day, she began her painting of the excellent Grandmother Tree/live oak that grounds the labyrinth.
leading into the grotto, the labyrinth
My time outside the workshop was taken up, making sure
the labyrinth path was clearly marked.
When we began the inaugural walk, I led
a short grounding
meditation, including loose instructions for walking the labyrinth; i.e., walk in with something in mind (in this case, it related to the symbols we chose to define ourselves), clear your mind when you reach the center, pay attention when you walk out for words/feelings/energy.
Of course, we had a lot of good food and conversation throughout.
meditation, including loose instructions for walking the labyrinth; i.e., walk in with something in mind (in this case, it related to the symbols we chose to define ourselves), clear your mind when you reach the center, pay attention when you walk out for words/feelings/energy.
Of course, we had a lot of good food and conversation throughout.
This Friday, we are holding a ritual at the labyrinth
in celebration of the total moon eclipse. We will begin around 8:30, so please
start arriving after 6:00 pm for dinner and socializing; the gathering for the event is to begin at 8:00 pm at the latest.
Do come join us, and feel free to camp out. If so, come earlier
so you can set up your tent.
Everyone is invited to bring food and/or drink to share.
1 comment:
If you are in Auburn and want to check out this installation, call ahead, or send an email to Anita Posey Lowe, she will be glad to take you on a tour. The experience of being in the space, and coming on to the tree installations is amazing, leave a blessing at the altar, the tequila is for the spirits.
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