Dan
and Lorena's
FLOOR
MAZE
Living
with a Labyrinth: More about the maze.
MATERIALS were chosen to represent the Four Elements. | |
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AIR: LIMESTONE
This creamy white variety has a few marine snail fossils. It is soft and chalky because the outcrops were exposed to weathering. |
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EARTH: SERPENTINE
A dark green low-temperature, high-pressure metamorphic rock composed of fibrous iron-magnesium silicate minerals, with stringers of white marble and a sprinkling of tiny black metallic magnetite crystals. It is recrystallized from igneous oceanic crust derived from the deep within the earth's mantle. |
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FIRE: COPPER
Three 6" x 3/16" plates with Lorena's hammered and oxidized designs of flames and smoke. |
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WATER: GLASS
Frosted clear and gray 1" - 3" rounded pieces. |
STATISTICS
This
is a labyrinth or unicursal maze, with a single path to the center and
no side paths.
The
maze and border are 11 x 11 feet (3.3 m). They are surrounded by
saltillo tile.
The
entrance faces West. The border on the East edge is of 2" plain and
decorated multicolored ceramic tiles.
The
serpentine path is 168 feet (51 meters) long and has 497 tiles.
The
limestone border has 565 tiles and also forms a maze with a single path
to the center. A single trip to the center and back on the limestone
path using the method of Theseus is 369 feet (120 meters) in length.
DESIGN
The
maze pattern was adapted from a round design by Tom
Baxter.
The
square version is a hybrid between the classical Roman maze (path travels
four quadrants in succession around a square)
and
the very ancient classic seven-circuit pattern found in many places around
the world.
We
wanted a pattern that would be interesting to look at, meaningful to walk
for meditation, fun to dance...and would fit our living room floor in 4"
tiles.
We
experimented with our own designs and squared many traditional round patterns,
including those from chapels and cathedrals
at
Hohenberg, Chartres, Guingamp, and Ravenna.
YARD
ART: Rain Spiral
Marble,
copper ore, iron oxide-rich siltstone, basalt. 10 feet across.
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Maze cards from the Ironwing Tarot |
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Maze
Carrier: Box Turtle Shell
Artwork HOME |
All
artwork, electronic images, and text copyright ©2003 by Lorena Babcock
Moore.
Reproduction
in any form without permission is a violation of copyright law.