»Nature never ceases to amaze me with its power, its beauty and its wisdom, and my creations explore processes which stimulate our contact and communication with the nature around us - and within us. «
»The ancient process of finding the centre of the labyrinth as we follow its meandering path mirrors our journey to find our own centre, our place of inner stillness. A labyrinth is not only a symbol of the journey each of us must take in order to find this place within, it is also a powerful tool which can assist us in our process.« - Eva Wolfram
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Compton February 2007 - Beach Pebbles on Grass
Tuesday, 20. 02.07
11.30am. This is the day I have set aside for creating the next tidal labyrinth in my series, so we pack some things - flask, the centre flag, layers of warm clothing and set out for the beach. The weather is quite murky and I am unsure what I will find, but something clearly calls me to go. On the way there I am surprised to realize that I didn’t take my labyrinth staff which I normally use to draw the initial shape in the sand. Unusual.
I arrive on the beach around midday. The tide is going out, and the sea has deposited a big patch of large pebbles right by the path which comes down from the cliff! I go for a walk along the beach, picking up bits and pieces, and putting them back down.The patch of pebbles is smiling at me... for quite a while I’ve wanted to build a labyrinth with a little more ’substance’, one where the impermanence isn’t quite as pressing as with a tidal structure. There is a lovely, relatively flat round area of grass just above the beach on the cliff. People have had parties there and a round black area marks the site of their bonfire. Hm... nice energy for the centre of al labyrinth. I pick up some large round pebbles to see how many I can carry in one go. Five. By my rough calculations, I will have to make more than 300 trips up and down the little path the weather has cut into the cliff!
12.30 pm. I have no idea how successful this will be, how far I will get with it before my legs will give, or my back, or the weather will turn too rough. But I am carrying the first few loads of pebbles up onto the grass and begin to lay out the structure.
The next four hours are spent running up and down from the grass to the beach, from the beach up to the grass. It is a lot of fun selecting the pebbles each time, almost like talking to them, allowing them to say »Pick me! Pick me!« - and they do. I lose myself in this process... carrying up pebbles from the beach, putting them in line, running back down. All the while the sea is raging as the tide is going out further.
3 pm. The labyrinth is about 2/3 finished and from quite early on people walking past have commented on the fact that they can see it from the top of the cliff. I get help with carrying the last 3 rounds of pebbles up from the beach. Thank god, because I’m beginning to feel the strain in my arms and legs. But I am very amazed by how relatively easy it has been! The labyrinth keeps growing, and the mist which has been coming in from the sea is beginning to recede again. The wind has changed direction.
4 pm. One more round and the labyrinth is complete. We will make it!
4.45 pm. It is finished. Now to set up an entrance structure, and I find a couple of large pieces of wood which will do nicely. Here it is, and yes, it IS visible from the top of the cliff - although it is still very misty. We get some fish and chips, light a small fire and celebrate the accomplishment with a glass of wine. As it gets dark we put out some candles to illuminate the labyrinth but it has become quite windy and we haven’t got much luck and pack the candles back into our bag.
What a day. I hadn’t expected to see this at the end of it! I’m feeling happy and exhausted, and incredibly rich. It will be interesting to see what happens to this labyrinth. Usually, my creations live on the beach in the tidal zone and get washed away by the sea with the next tide. This one potentially has a slightly larger life span - but it is also subjected to the elements, including cliff falls, erosion... and the creative and destructive energies of people. All of them are forces of nature, and I decide to document this process.
Wednesday, 21. 02.07
11.30 am. The weather is clear this morning so we decide to go back and take some more pictures. After spending some time with the labyrinth I come to the conclusion that, unlike the tidal ones on the beach, it doesn’t really need an entrance structure, or a centre stone to stand on, because it is just so much more substantial in itself. Also, the entrance gate is likely to be blown over by the wind. When I take it away and lift the centre flag stone, it is as if a big sigh of relief brushes past me. So here we are, on day 2.
Sunday, 25. 02.07
2.30 pm. Another visit to the labyrinth, which is much unchanged. Neither is the process - walk in, find the centre, let go and make a wish, walk out.
Saturday, 03.03.07
8.30 pm. Tonight there is a full moon eclipse, so what better place to view it from than the labyrinth! That is, if it is still there... every time I walk towards the cliff edge I wonder about what I will see. But, it is there. Although the weather isn’t too promising at first we have a perfect view of the eclipse, along with some marvellous stars, and stay until well after midnight. Someone has taken the outer line of stones and laid them towards the path down to the beach. It is interesting to see how people are inspired. Unfortunately it is impossible to take pictures in the dark.
Tuesday, 05.03.07
11.30 am. A very breezy day, ideal for flag-flying. I like to think that this creative process is far from completed. Here is the little line which was repositioned by somebody last time.
Windy! And look, a little white fish has appeared at the entrance. What a great gift. When it starts to rain, all the stones suddenly get the same pattern and the labyrinth looks even more coherent than before.
Friday, 09.03.07
10 am. It seems the creative forces within humans are the first to contribute to the impermance of this labyrinth. When I peek over the cliff edge I can see...
...it has turned into a massive spider/crab! Wow. I like the way it wraps its legs around the stone we were sitting on for the eclipse. This is true shape-shifting. I find quite a few tealights, people have been here at night.
5 pm. Coming back home later I realize that the labyrinth has attracted the attention of County Press reporters and there is an article about it in the paper!
Sunday, 11.03.07
3 pm. Another weekend with an increased number of visitors, probably also due to the article in the paper. The scattering of the pieces continues, and someone built a shelter like structure from found materials next to it.
Hm. Not sure what I think about this... although I am intrigued to see the labyrinth run its course it seems a shame to let it go just yet, when a number of people might still want to see and walk it. After some wrestling with myself I decide to rebuild it while this is still possible. Once the pattern gets too disturbed the only way would be to remove all the stones and start from scratch. And I am certainly NOT going to do that.
So I start figuring out the meanderings and curves, what has been moved, what is still the same. And it is remarkably more difficult to reconstruct than to build from scratch! The whole process turns into a big mental and physical exercise with much laughter and much placing and replacing stones. At the end of it we have another labyrinth. It looks like the other one, but...
now it turns the other way, with the shorter path going in from the right and the longer path on the left! What the...? How on earth? I have given up trying to figure this out. It works, you can walk forwards and will end up at the starting point eventually. But HOW? A mystery.
There, and this time I’ve given it a little impromptu signature.
Wednesday, 14.03.07
4 pm. A glorious day and I’m going to the beach to pick up some bottles and rubbish which I collected from the brambles last time. And hey, look! Someone with a lot of feeling has given the labyrinth two hands, like a clock.
When I get down there it seems as if the stones are smiling at me, they’re loving it. I go for a walk on the beach, the weather is fantastic. Soon we’ll be able to go swimming. A big piece of flint with a hole in it catches my eye, so I pick it up and carry it up to the grass. Doesn’t it seem like a guardian, or a petrified... er... cyclops? Anyway, it sits there snugly, the light and sound of the sea filters through the hole into the labyrinth.
Saturday, 17.03.07
2pm. St Patrick’s Day. Every year, this day marks a personal anniversary for us because of a bereavement in our family in 1997. I usually do a small ritual to commemorate the event and celebrate life. The beach at Compton is a place of great comfort and freedom for me, it gives me focus and perspective. Small wonder then that this is where I gravitate on days like these - especially if the weather is as nice as it is today.
When we arrive at the edge of the cliff, my son - who is ahead of us - comes running back towards me... he reaches us and says breathlessly: ’They’ve destroyed it!’ We make our way to the cliff and peek over the edge...
Oh-la-la, big transformation! This time, I’m very much at ease with this development, in fact it feels very right. What used to be an ordered structure now looks like a children’s ball pool with the outline of a figure in it. What an outburst of creativity, and it just makes it so clear... destruction and creation are two sides of the very same coin. Makes me wonder what those ants thought of me when I placed those rocks on their nest entrance. It also seems very apt that this should happen just before the new moon with its solar eclipse. People are influenced much more by the larger gravitational forces than they care to admit. I take some pictures, and then I pick up our things because this project is clearly complete, and the beach is calling.
Ah, the beach. The weather is absolutely amazing, and the tide is going out. A big long rock is sticking out of the sand in the tidal zone, I’ve noticed it before. I go down there and begin to play, somehow it feels like I am now doing what I set out to do when I came here a few weeks ago.
Feels good to me. Now I can appreciate again the lighter structure, the ease, the seeming unimportance. But this labyrinth is no less powerful than the other. I put a wreath of fresh rose branches in the centre and burn some sage. Walking the labyrinth I focus on just spending one brief moment with my emotions, with death, and with life. Especially with life. We’ve brought some donuts and leave one in the centre, along with our good wishes and prayers. We eat the others, of course!
The rest of the afternoon is spent with much creativity and fun. In this environment it is easy to channel heightened emotional energy into creative expression. There is a lot of blue clay on the beach and although I don’t usually work with clay here is what emerged:
»Uprooted, But Not Lost«
A pretty accurate conclusion on many levels. Eventually we get hungry, pack up our things and leave. From the top of the cliff it seems as if the spirit of the pebble labyrinth has left its physical form behind and gone for a walk on the beach. Contemplating this metaphor and its connection to the purpose of my day, I’m smiling quietly to myself as I walk to the car. Nature has once again provided all the clarity I need... suddenly like a flash the clockworks precision of my personal process - from the day I carried more than 1000 pebbles up from the beach until this very moment - becomes apparent to me, and it takes my breath away.
On a personal level, I’m feeling immensely grateful for this experience. On a project level this has all been very exciting, with an unexpected level of response and so many people accepting my invitation to come and connect with nature. Thank you everyone, I hope you’ve enjoyed it!
So where will we go from here? Who knows, there are unlimited possibilities. The sea provides an empty canvas every day, and we are also blessed with so many other marvellous places in nature here on the Island and all over the world. I’m off to Ireland for Easter and will keep you updated (If you follow this link and then bookmark the page, you can automatically access the latest diary entry), and by the way - you can always email me your feedback, questions and ideas.
6pm. My first walk at Compton after my holiday reveals that the stones have been returned to the beach and the site is once again used for bonfires and as a meeting place. Likewise, the beach labyrinth on sand has, of course, been washed away and the sea has changed the tidal zone with more larger stones exposed. Only memories are left of the labyrinth adventure...
...or are they? Go down there and spend some time. It is worth it.
And by the way - it only took a few weeks after my last beach sweep to trash the place with litter once again. DISPOSABLE BARBEQUES DON’T ROT, no matter how much you burn them in a bonfire!! Bottles don’t rot. Plastic doesn’t rot. Make sure you respect nature and take home what you brought along... it’s an easy, responsible thing to do.
My trip to Ireland was incredible and has given me huge inspiration. I can feel myself going into a phase of incubation. It is also still my plan to create a walkable fire labyrinth at summer solstice, so do check back if you’re interested, or email me.