A LABYRINTH JOURNEY

Welcome to "A Labyrinth Journey"a  blog that chronicles  the creation of the "Quinto Sol Labyrinth". My name is Margaret Saizan and I am one of the collaborators in this unique project. The Quinto Sol Labyrinth, an original design, was the centerpiece of a 3-D experience & art installation by New Orleans visionary artist and sacred symbolist, Theresa Herrera. Volunteers from the Baton Rouge Labyrinth Project  Maida Owens, and Daria Woodside, assisted with the design and producing this walkable painting.  It exhibited at the Baton Rouge Gallery in May, 2004. To see photos of this event, check out our photo-journal.

Mythic Journeys Conference

Following its debut at the Baton Rouge Gallery the labyrinth was exhibited at the Mythic Journeys Conference in Atlanta Georgia ( June 2-6, 2004). In addition to the installation, we had a booth in the  Mythic Marketplace there Artist Theresa Herrera combined her paintings of the Four Feminine Archetypes with the Labyrinth for this exhibit.  Maida Owens and I,  co-director of the Baton Rouge Labyrinth Project and Maida's daughter, fiber artist Rachel Bergeron came with us to Atlanta.

Here are some pictures of that event:

Our booth at the Mythic Journeys Conference. We featured labyrinth jewelry, art, and textiles based on the Quinto Sol and other labyrinth designs.

The labyrinth in the meditative space we created for the conference.

Table with journal and prayer bowl.

Finger Labyrinths hand painted by Theresa.

The Design Process

These are the design elements that went into the creation of the Quinto Sol Labyrinth:

The last circuits of the Siweard Labyrinth are pulled out to form a labyrinth with 4 bump-outs in each corner.

The Original Quinto Sol Heiroglyph from an ancient Aztec Calendar Stone.

First design sketch of the Quinto Sol Labyrinth.

A painted Maquette is made of the design. The labyrs were removed at the turns in the pathways, to take out almost all of the negative spaces, and to make the design more curviliniear.

The design is further refined and turned into a painted working sketch of what would become "The Quinto Sol Labyrinth".

Early Seeds

The story of "A Labyrinth Journey," began in January 2003, when my childhood friend Maida Owens and I started the Baton Rouge Labyrinth Project.

The Baton Rouge Labyrinth Project is a volunteer initiative to teach the Baton Rouge community about labyrinths, and to install permanent labyrinths in public spaces. About twenty enthusiastic people showed up to our first meeting at CC's Coffee House, including Daria Woodside, John Nagle, and Michele Fry, who I am naming here because of their continuing commitment to the project, and to our shared vision to bring labyrinths to the Baton Rouge community.

After the initial launch meeting we debuted our first labyrinth at the Earth Day Festival in Baton Rouge, followed by another labyrinth walk at FestForAll (a popular community arts festival) three weeks later. In June 2003 (around summer solstice) we hosted a labyrinth walk at BREC City Park in collaboration with  The Baton Rouge Gallery.

 Inasmuch as the labyrinth is a contemplative experience, I  was particularly worried about the kind of art that would be featured in the gallery at the time of our labyrinth event. Sometimes art is meant to provoke, disturb, shake people up. A labyrinth, on the other hand, is meant to be a reflective experience, a way to slow people down. Maida, who has been involved in public arts for years, had warned me that we wouldn't have any control over what would be on the walls of the gallery during our walk - and we'd just need to accept that. 

However, synchronicity prevailed. To my pleasant surprise the artist who "happened" to be exhibiting at the gallery on the day of our labyrinth debut was New Orleans visionary artist and sacred symbolist Theresa Herrera. Her work is grounded in the principles of sacred geometry , as is the ancient pattern of the labyrinth . I ended up purchasing one of Theresa's paintings of a medieval labyrinth superimposed over a luscious seascape (It graces the walls of my office as I type this now).....and this really is the beginning of the story of "A Labyrinth Journey."

The Labyrinth Begins

After many months of laying the groundwork, for "A Labyrinth Journey," the project finally moved into concrete action.

Maida Owens and I drove to Lafayette, La.  on Saturday morning to pick up the canvas from labyrinth facilitator Aimee Dominique. Aimee very generously helped me figure out the amount of canvas it would take to create a 24-foot labyrinth, then had it cut and sewn in an octagonal shape at an awning maker's shop.

 Stan Shelton of Woman's Hospital  in Baton Rouge, La.  donated the studio space.  We very excited to find a studio with enough floor space large to spread out a  24 foot piece of canvas months of searching in vain. Our temporary studio had everything we needed including ceiling fans to help speed up the paint drying process - in essence the labyrinth was a mural sized painting.  It exceeded our wildest expectations. It seemed that an unseen hand was guiding this process, and that we were being given everything we need.

On the eve of its creation, Daria Woodside got out of a sick bed to come help us begin the process of creating the new labyrinth. Inasmuch as the  labyrinth is a feminine symbol, we decided to dedicate this labyrinth to the creative principle, which is also a feminine principle. In honor of the quintessential creative woman, we all brought prayers for The Virgin Mary to pencil into the canvas.

Artist, Theresa Herrera   sent prayers to write in the labyrinth on her behalf by email. The three of us lit a rose candle (symbolic of Mary), turned on some soft soothing music, and penciled our prayers onto the canvas.

Maida photographed us as we worked, and those photographs are  now recorded in our photo journal. As an anthropologist it's simply in her nature to observe and document. She had to wear two hats though on this project because she was so much a part of the creative process.

First Day of Painting

We started the first day of painting the labyrinth around 9:00 a.m on Tuesday, March 2, 2004.

Theresa  chose a very luscious Marian Blue color for the base coat of the canvas. When we arrived we wrote remaining prayers onto the blank canvas and then set to work painting.

Maida and I quickly found out that the canvas just ate the paint! Painting it was a long, tedious process, but somewhere at midpoint Maida and I got a burst of joyful energy and found ourselves motivated to write life giving, joyful intentions and affirmations into the labyrinth. So we stopped painting and wrote whatever popped into consciousness...words like joy, peace, love, a path with heart, oneness with creation.

After we finished we both acknowledged that the old Catholic Marian prayers were necessary to the labyrinth, but they weren't speaking to us personally for some reason. It seemed that they represented the old ways of honoring and being with Mary. The form of Mary that we were experiencing in that moment was full of joy, life, sensuality, and passion. I think it is perfect that we have both kinds of prayers and affirmations in the labyrinth. I think the heart of my work with the labyrinth and beyond is about bringing ancient knowledge into new forms and new variations for our fast paced, contemporary world.

Around lunch time we finished the painting, and breathed a sigh of relief that the paint held out. We only had three cans of paint, and toward the end of the painting process we were afraid we would run out. We stopped for lunch, I ran out to Subway, and Maida stayed behind to clean up and wait for our friend Jo Hanna who was coming by to see the progress. 

When I returned with the sandwiches Jo Hanna and Daria were at the studio admiring our work. Daria, who at the time was teaching English classes at a community college,  was bubbling with so much enthusiasm that she lingered long enough to be late for class!

After Daria went off to teach, Maida and I talked to Jo as we cleaned up. Jo had an inspiration for a new labyrinth turning over in her mind. However, Maida  - who grounds and focuses me - was quick to warn me not to get too carried away on new labyrinth ideas.  We had only started creating this labyrinth and we still had quite a journey ahead of us.

Prayers Embedded in the Labyrinth

A labyrinth dedicated to the feminine will eventually point the way to the highest manifestation of any woman, the Divine Feminine immanent in each.

There is a mono-myth, articulated most succinctly by master mythologist, scholar, and teacher, Joseph Campbell. It is called the Hero's Journey, and it depicts an outward journey that is often framed up as a male-oriented quest.

In the Quest of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian Legend, Campbell tells how each knight entered the forest in a place that was darkest and there was no path. The journey is one to discover the Holy Grail. Along the way, sooner or later, every knight, every man who dares to take this journey will meet the Divine Feminine.

In the West, the highest manifestation of the creative woman, is Mary, the God Bearer. Mary is symbolic for creativity, birth renewal, new life. Theresa Herrera's work is very grounded in the tradition of Mary in her many forms. In honor of the Divine Mother and the ultimate expression of Divine Creativity, we penciled prayers to her onto the raw canvas at the beginning of our labyrinth-making process. These are but a few of those prayers:

Daria's Prayers:

Blessed Virgin Mary, the people of the Americas are filled with joy, for your motherly love was revealed at Tepeyac. You are the great sign that appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and her head crowned with twelve stars. Assist us with your prayers that we may love each other as sisters and brothers of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen

May the heart of earth and the heart of heaven meet in my heart, and may your heart and my heart be as one....

Theresa's Prayers:

November 29, 1988 10:30 PM (Special Blessing)
"Bless even those who don't believe. You can give them this Blessing from the heart to help them in their conversion. Bless everyone you meet. I give you a special grace. I desire you to give this grace to others."
"Go in peace."

"I extend to you the blessing of Our Lady."

"I invite you to pray and to abandon yourself totally to God."

"I wish that all your life be love, only love. Everything that you do, do it with love. In every little thing, see Jesus and His example. You also do as Jesus did. He died out of love for you. You also offer all you do with love to God, even the smallest little things of everyday life."

Margaret & Maida's Experience:

One evening as Maida and I were sitting at the labyrinth in progress, we found ourselves seized by a sudden burst of joy and energy. We were moved to write positive affirmations in the labyrinth. These were one-liners like Joy! Creativity! Abundance! Many good wishes have been inscribed in the labyrinth for all the people who may come to find the labyrinth and walk its meandering pathways.

Day of Glitches

The day after we applied the base coat of paint to the labyrinth, I went by the space to see how the paint was curing on the canvas. I almost had heart palpitations when I saw it. The paint was drying unevenly and there were splotch marks all over the canvas.

I called Maida to tell her what was up and she sprung into action. She asked Kitty Pheney (one of her colleagues and an artist who oversees large public installations) to come by to take a look at our fiasco and see what we could do to fix it. Kitty, told us that we couldn't expect to get an even coat of paint over a 24 foot piece of stretch canvas. In our Louisiana humidity the paint is subject to dry at uneven rates, the canvas is wrinkled and subject to stretching. Maida and I had already noticed that our canvas was growing as we painted it!

Maida, later emailed worried about what what was going to happen when it came time to paint out the labyrinth
lines. She didn't  want to be responsible for perfectly painted lines, and as for me - i am not an artist and can't paint way out of a paper bag.

On top of it Maida couldn't get the photographs she had taken out of the camera!

We were clear that we were in the heart of the creative process with all of its unexpected twists and turns. Labyrinths are perfect metaphors for this process...and this one is turning out to be no exception to the rule.

Maida, emailed me later that day to tell me about a Louisiana artist painter who was creating a 14 X 25 foot painting for a public art installation. We observed that this project was almost twice that size and decided that we were either we creative geniuses or complete idiots. Stay tuned to find out which one it really was!

First Painting Week-end

The first week-end in the studio with Theresa was exciting but also very intense. She had planned to come in on Friday night, but didn't make it. After she got home from school  (she teaches art in a high school in New Orleans) she decided to take a nap to rejuvenate before before heading to Baton Rouge. . I was expecting her around 8:30 or 9:00 pm. She called at about 8:00 and said she had slept through the alarm. We both decided it would be best for her to start out in the morning. She decided she'd leave New Orleans early and be in Baton Rouge for 8:30 am. A light rain moved in later that evening.

By the time Theresa arrived in Baton Rouge that Saturday morning, the thunderstorms had moved out  and we had a beautiful clear sunny day ahead of us. After a snack and some conversation, we met Maida at the studio. Theresa's first job was to to arrange the design composition of the labyrinth. Maida and I had already fixed the center concentric circles using a template. The labyrinth was now  Theresa's domain. It took some time for her to get the rest of the design composed, and then we started the process of making templates.

At some point Theresa sent me out for chalk. When I returned Daria was there, and she and Theresa were engrossed in a conversation about sacred geometry. After a bit, we got back to work and Theresa taught us a really cool process for transferring the design off of the canvas and onto templates. We spread black paper over the design and then rubbed the paper with credit cards. The rubbing causes the chalk to create an imprint onto the paper. Jo Hanna came by to help us out, and then moved on as she had her own projects going at home.

The template process took a lot longer then we expected. A good part of the day was spent orienting, talking, Theresa sketching...and we all did a lot of eating. I went to get something to eat, Daria and Maida went to get something to eat, then about 4:30 we all went to get something to eat!!! This bunch of women did a lot of eating through the labyrinth construction. It must have been all that creative energy we were burning up.

Right before we went on our group eating venture, Nina Russell came by to visit. She looked positively radiant wearing a white shirt with a hot pink heart in the center. She had a beautiful shade of pink lipstick on, and so she brought in a lot of good feminine creative energy. There's that color pink again...pink walls, pink lipstick, big hearts, lots of feminine creative energy.

Nina, dear friend, supporter and minister, has been a tremendous resource and partner in the project since day 1. Nina was actually the first Veriditas-trained labyrinth facilitator in Baton Rouge and the person that connected me to my very first labyrinth walk at the home of Michele Fry and John Nagle. She has helped tremendously in so many ways - with support, encouragement, and in providing needed resources. It felt so good to have her come by and add her love and energy to this endeavor. She always seems to show up when the really important things are going on. The three of us invited Nina to come to dinner with us but she declined, as she'd been out all day.

After dinner we got back to the studio. I walked outside for a moment to get some fresh air. As I looked up in the night sky I saw a brilliant, full yellow moon coming up on the horizon. In myth, the moon is considerd to be a lunar symbol representing the creative phases and cycles of a woman's life. It seemed appropriate to me that here we were - a community of creative women - gathered here at this time and this place - in a pink walled women's community center - for the purposes of creating a labyrinth to honor feminine creativity. The moon in its full splendor rising in the dusky sky seemed to just be another example of the synchronicities that we've encountered since we started this process.

We all stood out looking at the rising moon together. Maida grabbed her camera and started taking photographs. Theresa, being an artist, noticed how the moon was framed between two branches of a tree. The composition of the moon between the two branches was reminiscent of a portal with the moon at the center. After eveybody else went in I stood out for a while longer and just gazed at the moon. I felt a loving, spiritual presence enveloping me. It made for a really nice moment.

Early Design

The labyrinth is an iteration  of the Quinto Sol symbol of the Aztecs and a labyrinth from a medieval manuscript written by the Abbot Siweard in Abingdon, England (aka The Siweard's labyrinth). The center part is simply concentric circles adapted from the Siweard's manuscript. The whole design though is shaped like the Quinto Sol.

Theresa eventually removed  the labyrs and negative space. She has ingeniously used every ounce of available space inside the labyrinth for walking and reflection. In the completed labyrinth there are ample spaces to step off the path to sit, stand, and meditate.Once Theresa discarded the boundaries, the lines became much more curvilinear and sweeping. To me, the curvilinear lines make walking this particular labyrinth a very sensual experience. .

The Primed Canvas

Maida took a photograph of the "spotchy" canvas and emailed an attachment to it to Theresa. Maida informed her that "the canvas was primed and full of clouds".  She was trying to keep things light but we were both worried that Theresa  was going to be upset.  I am not sure why, because in retrospect I am realizing that all we had to do is apply a new coat of paint! At this point the medium was forgiving.  And we should have realized that an artist is used to the unexpected in the creative process. In fact, at this point in time we anticipated that the labyrinth design was going to be superimposed over a seascape. So Theresa good naturedly responded to Maida's email  with the message that "It looks like the surface of the water will be reflecting some passing clouds, too!" However inasmuch as Theresa is an intuitive artist this was not to be. The concept went through three different metamorphisis. It was fascinating to witness Theresa give herself permission to change her mind and follow the wild call of the muse.

Later, Maida and I met at the studio try our hand at a first run of the design. Theresa was slated to come the next day to start painting the background and we wanted to lay out the design template for her.  We were delighted to find that the canvas had  now completely dried and when you walked on it no paint came off on your feet!

That night in the studio I had an aha moment. Our borrowed studio was formerly home to a Woman's Fitness Center run by Woman's Hospital. The fitness center had since moved to new quarters but the hospital was still leasing the space.   It occurred to me that  I had given birth to all of my children at Woman's Hospital, including the one child I lost.  I had experienced both joyful and sorrowful births there - and discovered that birth is not always pretty -  in fact it can be messy and confusing like the canvas was the day before. Now the studio space with its walls an  appropriately painted pink were filled with the creative powers of the feminine again.

Eventually Maida and I got the labyrinth designed chalked out on the canvas. Maida thought it would take an hour but it took three. After we finished our good work, we took turns walking the newly forming labyrinth.

Sunday in the Studio

On Sunday morning Theresa and I went to mass with my husband Tommy and youngest  Conner. There was a mother on the pew in front of us with a Mexican child, a black child, and yellow haired little white girl.

The Mexican child was asleep in her mother's arms. I kept thinking that this is how Theresa must have looked when she was little. Actually Theresa was the one who later pointed out that the family was multi-cultural.

For another interesting connection the banner on the wall of the church was a unicursal form very similar to "our" labyrinth. When Theresa tweaked the design that Maida and I had put down with the template, all of the negative space disappeared. We ended up with a beautiful unicursal form with sweeping lines. Theresa said she wanted people to experience some boundaries in the labyrinth, but not real defined ones.

After mass Theresa and I ate a big breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and biscuits. Theresa wanted to talk a bit. She was very gracious but I got that she was needing a little more creative space than we were giving her. Originally she had wanted people in the space to help her paint. However, the week-end ended going in a totally different direction. The focus ended up being about getting the labyrinth design chalked out, and getting the design elements chalked onto the canvas. We didn’t get any paint onto the canvas this week-end. She decided that on her next trip to Baton Rouge she should go into the studio alone. I agreed that we would be on call if she needed us, and I would run by periodically to check on her.

 Later that afternoon at the studio, Daria Woodside created a beautiful altar for  Our Lady of Guadalupe, with photographs, and rose candles.  Theresa had Daria and me pencil in the rosary, the Apostles Creed, and the Trinity. Theresa put on some jazz music and worked on the composition. Daria, Maida, and I got out of the way and went into another room to put finishing touches on the template. Maida sprayed the chalk template with hair spray to seal it.

After Theresa got her composition right, she suddenly was seized with the inspiration to make lily pads - of all things - so she started sketching lily pads onto the canvas. This was a completely new and unplanned direction handed to her by the muse, and that is when the seascape concept disappeared.   After Theresa got all the lily pads chalked out, she invited us to come look and walk the labyrinth. As I was walking the labyrinth among all those lovely lily pads I got a little silly and started hopping through it like a frog. I was feeling very happy and joyful and amphibious!

After the lily pad walk,  Theresa started mixing paints. It was a long, slow tedious process. I thought I wanted to learn how to mix paints but I found myself going attention deficit on Theresa. She is very meticulous when it comes to color...she has infinite patience so as to get just the color she wants. Now I know why I am not an artist.  I don't think I have that kind of patience!

By days end Theresa had finally got the color green she wanted for the lily pads. However, she opted not to begin the painting process. Her original intentions were to get Maida, Daria, and me started painting lily pads. However, she had lesson plans to create for the next week. She felt if we got started on the lily pads we'd be immersed for several more hours.

Kazuko, Maida's housemate from Japan, stopped by to see what we'd accomplished with the labyrinth. We all sat and talked to her a bit. Then we packed up and went home.

All in all this week-end was true to the creative process. It was joyful, fun, and exhilarating... but there were moments of tension, too. It very much reminds me of our process to create the Grandmother Spider labyrinth at City Park. Birth is both a joy but it can also be intense and painful, too. It's a struggle to bring forth vision. However, I wouldn't ever trade vision for the safe, comfortable route. Never. It's a joy in the midst of all that it takes to be able to bring forth something beautiful into the world, and particularly in community.

Week 2

Theresa came in the next Friday afternoon after her school day ended. We ate boiled crayfish at my house and we chatted for a while. She wanted some "alone" time in the studio that week-end, but decided she needed to create a very large template of the design before she started painting. She had sketched in lily pads and other design elements since our last template-making process.

Maida had an extra table that Theresa needed for paint mixing, so the three of us met up at the studio. Long time friend  Tricia Jarratt called as Theresa and I were walking out the door. She was in Baton Rouge  and was wanted to connect, so we invited her to come to the studio and take a peek at the labyrinth. The four of us - Theresa, Maida, Trisha and I made another template of the design. This would be the last time Theresa would need our assistance with the labyrinth in the studio.

The next morning Theresa got up and went to the studio, and stayed until late evening. On Sunday she got up on her own and headed out to mass without me. We had gotten through all the "houseguest protocal" and she was ready to do some things on her own. Tommy decided we should go to mass too, so we met up with her at church.

Afterwards we went to IHOP for a big breakfast. My nine-year-old son Conner became intrigued with some little books Theresa had on the stations of the cross and novenas. He and Theresa became absorbed in a conversation about that. After breakfast Theresa was off to the studio. I came later in the day just to check on her. I found her sitting on the floor painting fast and furiously to upbeat Chicana music. We did some aerobics to keep her energy high  and then I left. Her plans were to drive back to New Orleans when she wrapped up in the studio.

Maida came over later in the week and snapped photos to do a progress report, which I  posted to the photo journal.

Week 3

Theresa drove in from New Orleans a couple of days after school, painted into the evening, and came back to my house to spend the night. She would get up very early in the morning the next day so she could get back to New Orleans in time to teach school.

Week 4

After a month of painting and no end in sight, Theresa  asked for an inflatable bed that she could  bring to the studio. It was clear that she was in for some serious painting sessions. The painting was taking much longer than any of us anticipated.  The inflatable mattress I brought required batteries and somehow we never got around to getting them. She ended up making a sleeping bag mattress on the floor and slept on that. Later, she said it was perfect for her because she felt like she would have slept for longer periods of time than she needed to on the inflatable.

Final Week-end of Painting

Earlier in the week I called Stan Shelton at Woman's Hospital to see what the possibilities would be for staying in the studio one more week-end. Stan kindly agreed to give us one more week-end but we definitely had to be out by Monday.

Originally we were supposed to have the studio space for  two week-ends. Of course the labyrinth project was much more complex and took longer than any of us thought it would. Stan was very patient and agreeable every week when Maida would call to report that we weren't finished and needed to stay a little longer.

On Friday afternoon, Theresa knocked on the door. When I opened the door she sort of stumbled into the kitchen looking pretty whipped. She said she was going straight upstairs to take a nap and asked me to wake her up, no later than 6:30. She was so exhausted from the work week that she thought she might sleep through the alarm.

Around 7:30 she appeared in the kitchen in her slippers looking for a bite to eat. We sat down at the table and ate crawfish and drank Mexican beer with lime.

When we finished with the crawfish, I thought Theresa would want to go to the studio to paint. We absolutely had to be out by Sunday, and to make that deadline Theresa was going to have to be finished with the labyrinth by Saturday night. The paint would need to cure overnight so that we'd be able to fold up the canvas and move it out.

However, in true feminine form, Theresa opted out of going to the studio and decided she wanted to make fertility goddesses instead. As part of her labyrinth art installation, she had planned to have a "fertility goddess" workshop to show participants how to make the figurines. After the figurines were made, they were to be placed   on an altar that Theresa was creating for the exhibit.

Theresa solicited Conner, my nine year old to come help us make our figurines. Conner really got into the spirit of the thing, and Theresa, of course, is an artist. So her little goddess looked like art. Mine looked phallic for a while so I had to keep working with the clay.

While we sat at the table making figurines Theresa said she was missing her own mother, Guadalupe, who had passed away several years ago. We talked about the night Conner was born and that segued into a conversation about what it feels like to physically give birth. I had natural childbirth with all four of my children so I had a few things I could say about what it feels like. The best I could do to describe it to her is that it feels as though there is this tremendous force that's taken over your body. Giving birth is about as close to God as I've ever been.

Although about fifteen years ago I had a visionary experience that initiated me into my present spiritual life. The force that moved through my being felt much the same.  All I know to say that the power of the transcendent is much greater than any experience we can contain, and anything we could ever say about it in words.

The next morning when I woke up Theresa had already left for the studio. I had all kinds of running around to do on Saturday, so I didn't catch up with her again until late Saturday night. She told me she finished the labyrinth at 5:30 pm. We started on a full moon week-end and 28 days later on a full moon week-end Theresa finished the labyrinth. It's hard to ignore the metaphor!

As you can probably tell by now, I think metaphorically, and I look for patterns in the every day occurrences of life. I find them, too. I guess I am a meaning maker, maybe a weaver would be a better word, because I am always trying to weave meaning into what's happening around me. I have also decided that like Theresa, I am also a sacred symbolist. I never would have thought that I would be so attracted to and called to work with symbols. However, I have become completely seized by them.

Final Week-end - Part II

On that last Sunday of painting,  my husband Tommy and Theresa went to mass. When they returned Theresa said she was "jonesing" for a Mexican omelet with salsa and black bean - which she cooked for herself. I sat at the table and talked with her while she ate her brunch. My son Conner and several mischievous little boys who lived in the neighborhood were being a little bit too rowdy, so Theresa who teaches this age group in a school gifted arts program, took matters into your own hands and shuffled them outside.

Conner said they were going down to Hudson's House but he didn't think they'd last long there, either, cause "according to him "they got a Grandmother down there"! Theresa and I got tickled about him saying that. After all, everybody knows a grandmother isn't going to put up with rowdy boys either. Cheers to the crones of this world.

After Theresa finished her breakfast she packed up all of the items she had left here during her off and on extended stay at my house while she was in the painting process. She was finished with the labyrinth and it was time to head home. We loaded up her car and then headed for the studio to move out.

Before we left I called Maida to come meet us there to take photographs of the labyrinth, and help us move out of the studio. I wanted Daria to join us but she was finishing her last week-end of chaplain training and couldn't come. We had all been together to mark the first week-end of painting, and I wished that she could be there to gather with us for our final time in the studio.

When I arrived at the studio I got my first look at the completed labyrinth. It had gone through three metamorphosis since its beginnings. The original plans were to superimpose the labyrinth design over a painted seascape. Then, when Theresa arrived at the studio to paint the first week-end she sketched the labyrinth over a waterscape with lily pads cascading throughout. She had even spent a session chalking the lily pads onto the labyrinth. During this phase the labyrinth became "The lily pad labyrinth." Imagery of frogs and their symbolism of fertility were predominant. Daria and I both kept seeing frog images everywhere. That's kind of how it goes. 

However, after Theresa actually started painting, she intuitively began to paint over the lily pads. At one point she thought they would reappear after the background got painted. We had transfered the lily pad sketches onto the templates, so it would have been possible for her to recreate the exact sketch of the original design. However, as time got short she realized the lily pads weren't going to get on the labyrinth...and we were both unclear if they even should.

The gravity of the creative process had taken over and what seemed to want to emerge was not the lily pad labyrinth. Plus, while walking the lily pad version in its chalk sketch phase, I noticed I felt exuberant and playful, not contemplative. I worried that once they were painted on they could be distractive. When I tell you they were cascading throughout the labyrinth, I really mean there were a zillion of 'em. I could envision the beauty of that imagery, but still worried that the motif would be busy and high energy.

Even as late as the night before Theresa's final painting session, she thought she might get some lily pads at the entrance of the labyrinth. However, when I saw the completed labyrinth the first thing I noticed is that she had placed the Vescia Piscia symbol at the entrance. I was surprised and very pleased to have this magnificent symbol integrated into the labyrinth and especially at the entrance. The Vescia Piscia at the entrance of the Quinto Sol labyrinth is a symbol that has interested me for some time. I am especially fond of the symbol as a motif at the Chalice Well in Glastonbury, England.

I must say that it was  awesome to watch Theresa give herself over, to yield herself totally, to the creative process. In the past I have been very critical of my pattern of getting in the middle of something and changing my mind, even when I've sensed that the shift in direction is coming from the wild call of intuition.

These internal voices are parental and cultural voices.   In my parents world you make up your mind and stick to it. You don't start something and change courses. To put energy and investment in something then wildly abandon it in favor of something else is considered irresponsible.

However, as I begin to give my own self permission to surrender to the creative unknown, I am also learning that nothing is ever wasted or lost in the creative process. The ideas, motifs, dreams, and plans that come up always have a way of re-emerging at a later time. In the past I've also framed up my tendencies to shift directions as negative. These were mistakes, and its not okay to make mistakes. Now I am understanding that my tendencies are natural to the creative process. (And Theresa did eventually recreate the lily pad labyrinth - the lily pads were  a painted  into a clay finger labyrinth) .

I must say that bearing witness to Theresa's creativity was incredibly validating to my own. She was totally comfortable with shifting directions, with trying something out and then abandoning it in favor of a better direction. She is totally comfortable in her skin as an artist and as creative person.

Events at the Baton Rouge Gallery

Here is the information re The Labyrinth Journey exhibit and talks at the Baton Rouge Gallery:

A Labyrinth Journey Debuts at the Baton Rouge Gallery: (April 25 – May 21, 2004)

Artist Theresa Herrera’s art installation, “A Labyrinth Journey”  debuta  Sunday April 25 at 4:00 pm at the Baton Rouge Gallery at BREC City Park. (Dalrymple at Perkins) The centerpiece of the exhibit was a walkable canvas with a 24-foot labyrinth called the Quinto Sol, an original design adapting the Sieward Labyrinth with the Quinto Sol heiroglyph located at the center of the Aztec Calendar stone. It is a popular motif among Chicana artists and used to represent spiritual harmony and ecological balance.

It stands for the four creation myths of the Aztecs and the belief in the preservation of the current era of existence called the Fifth Sun - our present era. A labyrinth is a full body experience of the mystical spiral. The spiral, an ancient, universal pattern utilized in sacred geometry is an image of contemplation and union with the spiritual.

The centerpiece of the exhibit is a walkable canvas with a 24-foot labyrinth called the Quinto Sol, an original design adapting the brlpmargaret@hotmail.com, Maida Owens at brlpmaida@att.net, or contact Anna Roberts at the Baton Rouge Gallery at aroberts@brec.org, (225) 383-1470

The exhibit is on display April 25-May 21, 2004. The Baton Rouge Gallery is open Tuesday – Sunday from noon to 6 pm.

Sacred Feminine Clay Modeling Workshop: (May 8)

On Saturday, May 8, come work with artist Theresa Herrera to make clay figurines to honor feminine creativity. The clay figurines will become part of her altar in her art installation at the Baton Rouge Gallery. This event will take place from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at the Baton Rouge Gallery.

Theresa Herrera & Charles Barbier Gallery Talk (May 8)
Also on Saturday, May 8, Theresa Herrera will talk about her three-dimensional art installation, “A Labyrinth Journey” at the Baton Rouge Gallery from 4:00 to 5:00 pm.

How to Build a Labyrinth Workshop: (May 11)

Volunteers with the Baton Rouge Labyrinth Project will teach you how to build a labyrinth. You will learn to draw a labyrinth and learn about different labyrinth designs and installations. The group will build a labyrinth using masking tape. The event takes place at the Baton Rouge Gallery from 7:00 to 9:00 pm.

Theresa Herrera Gallery Talk: (May 15)

Theresa Herrera will again present a talk on her three-dimensional art installation at the Baton Rouge Gallery from 12:00 to 1:00 pm on Saturday, May 15.

The BRG Exhibit Comes Down

On Saturday May 21, 2004, Theresa and I met at 10:00 am the Baton Rouge Gallery to take the exhibit down.

By far the most painstaking part of the process was scooping up the sand from the Guadalupe altar. Since the altar would be traveling to the Mythic Journeys Conference in Atlanta Georgia, we had to pack up all the sand into little zip lock bags, along with the lava rock we used to build the altar. Theresa said it had taken her too long to dry out the sand - she wouldn't have time to go through that process again in time for the conference. It was late afternoon before we finished taking the exhibit down and loading up all the paraphenalia into our cars. As I drove away from the Baton Rouge Gallery, a chapter in the history of "A Labyrinth Journey" came to an end.

The Final Chapter

A Labyrinth Journey traveled to the Mythic Journeys Conference in Atlanta, Georgia in June 2004. At the end of the conference, Theresa took the Quinto Sol Labyrinth home with her. She plans to continue exhibiting the labyrinth at art galleries, and will use it as a show room sample of her work. She says she plans to paint a lot more labyrinths!

Maida, Daria, and I continued our focus on community labyrinths through the Baton Rouge Labyrinth Project.

For more information about my latest endeavors and projects go to www.margaretsaizan.com

Update - September 16, 2005: As of this writing it is possible that the Quinto Sol Labyrinth has been destroyed due to the flooding in New Orleans following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Artist Theresa Herrera was storing it on the first floor of her home in N.O, which is situated in the flood zone. She evacuated out of New Orleans prior to the storm & hasn't returned home yet. Will keep you posted on futher developments.

Update: December 28, 2008:   I am happy to report that the Quinto Sol Labyrinth did survive the flooding of artist Theresa Herrera's New Orleans home, although it needed a good bit of clean up to remove the mold.

Acknowledgments

New Orleans artist and symbolist Theresa Herrera created a walkable painting on a 24' piece of octagonal shaped canvas.

The Baton Rouge Labyrinth Project, assisted with the design and producing the labyrinth for an exhibit at the Baton Rouge Gallery , April 25-May 21, 2004.

Margaret Saizan sponsored the materials for the creation of the Quinto Sol  as well as the exhibit at the Mythic Journeys Conference in Atlanta, Georgia., June 2-6, 2004.

Stan Shelton of Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge, Lousiana generously donated a large enough studio space for painting a 24' labyrinth.