Chalked a different, yet this time around it was a precisely measured nine lane “Peace Labyrinth” in the same intersection as last year’s Toronto Ukrainian Festival.
Checkout the peace labyrinth at Bloor and Armadale pic.twitter.com/70p6rS3AnS
— Toronto Ukrainian Festival (@TorUkrFestival) September 16, 2023
Chalk outlines of the Leaves I intended to paint in Green with Yellow veins around the brand new Garden Car on the first Pedestrian Sunday of 2023 in Kensington Market…
“This was such a lovely addition!
It was delightful to see kids winding around it and discovering the magic and benefit of Labyrinths.”
“I came across that just a while ago, literally.”
The peace labyrinth created by Toronto artist Himy Syed @LabyrinthsDOTca pic.twitter.com/j4Puio7omC
— Toronto Ukrainian Festival (@TorUkrFestival) September 17, 2022
Can’t say enough good things about @LabyrinthsDOTca’s work. These are key activations that make it fun to walk our streets!
— Norm Di Pasquale – Ward 11 City Council Candidate (@normsworld) September 18, 2022
" Peace Labyrinth " 🍥
" Лабіринт Мир "
Toronto Ukrainian Festival 2022
Armadale Avenue & Bloor Street West Intersection
Bloor West Village
| #Labyrinths🍥 #TorontoUkrainianFestival🇺🇦 #BloorWestVillage https://t.co/hyQt9ahUKE pic.twitter.com/ZOeNGEqWWj
— HïMY SYeD 🍥 City of Labyrinths Project (@LabyrinthsDOTca) September 18, 2022
After OpenStreetsTO on Sunday afternoon,
I meandered my way to Grange Park to walk my Blue Labyrinth,
It’s still there,
Still painted on the surface in the middle of Grange Park.
Below the Blue Labyrinth there is enough space for another Labyrinth.
In recent weeks,
I have been randomly chalking a walkable Heart Labyrinth in this space.
Apparently, it’s still there.
This is the Heart at the Start of the Heart Labyrinth.
The curve on the left suggests a feeling like a ray from a rainbow landing on the Heart.
Children chalked a Heart!
AND chalked The Sun too!
Seeing some lovely child led additions to your labyrinth at St. Andrew’s Playground @LabyrinthsDOTca! pic.twitter.com/K93W38wAUU
— Norm Di Pasquale (@normsworld) August 11, 2022
Saturday Afternoon spent chalking three Labyrinths in and around the Central Playground of Brampton’s Chinguacousy Park.
I was so focused on making the Labyrinths,
I only took a few photographs.
And altogether forgot to take any photographs of my third Labyrinth, a pass-through baltic design closer to the spray pad area.
It was that time of day,
Before the photographer’s Golden Hour when natural lighting is at its best for image captures,
When long shadows make it challenging to properly photograph the Labyrinths I draw in chalk on the ground.
So I only took two more less than satisfactory photographs to simply remember and remind myself of the day.
People walking the Labyrinths came in waves, when one would walk, many then followed.
Perhaps as many teens and grown-ups walked them as the total number of children who kept returning to re-walk them.
I lost track of time and was mostly in the moment.
Making Labyrinths has become my Mindfulness practice as much as walking Labyrinths.
Around the largest of the afternoon’s three Labyrinths,
I chalked the word for Labyrinths in a number of Brampton’s most spoken Languages.
Somehow the late afternoon rays of sunlight peeking through the trees and landing upon my multi-colour chalk Labyrinth,
Looks very much like the colours of sunlight passing through the stained glass windows of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, as it illuminated the Labyrinth inside the Church.
Image I took of the Labyrinth inside Grace Cathedral in SF back in 2013.
It appears the outline of a Heart I placed at the entrance to my latest Labyrinth painted in Grange Park has been chalked into a smiling face with horns . . .
Minotaur Outside The Labyrinth ?
New labyrinth in the Grange Park. https://t.co/SVsx1rmclc pic.twitter.com/TxNh9ncr0L
— Alyx Dellamonica (@AlyxDellamonica) August 19, 2020
Children exploring Labyrinth I chalked in Withrow Park where the paths meet . . .
Jo was kind enough to say hello and ask me a little bit about the Labyrinths I painted on Augusta Avenue during Pedestrian Sunday . . .
Wonderful surprise to see her in depth instagram post…
Thank you Jo!
Happy Walking!
“In Kensington Market this past weekend and came across these Labyrinths made by HiMY SYeD.
As I learned from the artist, Labyrinths were essential to ancient civilizations, the earliest ones built out of stone along the sea to capture fish as sustenance.
To HiMY , his Labyrinths are a form of “urban acupuncture.”They encourage people to explore space, place, decision-making, choice, habit, and even perseverance.
As some complete the path, others may cheat and break the course.
It’s great that a simple urban intervention like this can create surprise, participation, and play🤸♂️
While a maze is meant to puzzle and confuse, the Labyrinth will always lead you to its centre ❤️” – Jo Minhinnett
Often enough, people never ever walk the Labyrinths I chalk or paint or make, instead they choose to jump in somewhere to capture and share a self-portrait with the Labyrinth in the background.
Much like this one . . .
Here’s me earlier today chalking Labyrinths atop Augusta Avenue in Kensington Market, Toronto on the first car-free Pedestrian Sunday of the Year . . .
