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Laura Benson

#laura benson #Where the Veil Thins #quick tongues of intuition speaking her names #finger labyrinth #my upload

3.5.19

Mini Altar Cloth and/or Finger Labyrinth

Key patterns, whatever their origin, Celtic, Greek, or other, always make me think of mazes and labyrinths. While not all key patterns actually form a labyrinth, the pattern I used for this project does. A labyrinth is different than a maze in that it has no dead ends and you don’t have to make decisions where to turn, the path takes you to the center and you can turn off your brain and meditate as you go inward and then onward. Another name for these patterns is a meander. To the ancient Greeks the name "meander" recalled the twisting and turning path of the Maeander River in Asia Minor.

This key pattern is Celtic, as the Celts introduced the use of diagonal lines. If you begin at the interior red line where the wooden stylus is pointing in the bottom left picture you can use your finger (or if you’re like me and you don’t want to get the oils from your fingers on your precious textile designs, a wooden stylus!) and trace the red line upward, continue tracing around each “arrow” shape, continuing as the pattern turns blue and the path will take you upwards to the entrance/exit where the stylus is pointing in the bottom right hand photo.

I designed this embroidery to have a dark half and a light half, representing the dark and light half of the year, or perhaps even the upper and underworlds. I even included 12 “arrow” shapes to represent the 12 months of the year. When using this finger labyrinth I will be able to breathe my way through the wheel of the year. The small border around the edges is meant to evoke the yin yang symbol-there is always lightness in dark and darkness in light.

My intent while making this piece was to pull myself up out of the labyrinth of depression and physical pain I’ve been living through during the last two months as my not so routine gall bladder surgery turned into multiple surgeries and procedures. It has certainly distracted me as I’ve delved deeper into the history and meaning of labyrinth. Below are links to some articles I’ve very much enjoyed.

If you are interested in finger labyrinths, they can be purchased online-or maybe someday I’ll get around to pulling my Etsy shop together!!