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Maze of the Week #153 is an Elk maze.
Here was my preview image.
Here is the first version of the maze. I like this maze more than most.
And the alternative color version.
Downloads are available in the comic book style maze section. Come back tomorrow to see what the comic book cover looks like !
Next weeks Maze Preview:
There are over 100 labyrinths in Wisconsin. I have selected 8 of the best that are accessible to the public and I believe are worth a visit. If you want a full list of labyrinths in the state check out the Worldwide Labyrinth Finder.
Why visit a Labyrinth ?
Labyrinths are ancient and mysterious symbols that have been used for centuries for meditation, contemplation, and spiritual renewal. They are also a lot of fun to explore! If you're looking for a unique and challenging experience, walk a labyrinth with intention - it often leads to self-discovery. Personally, I like to walk labyrinths between dawn and sunrise or at sunset until dusk, but any time of day works. You may not realize it, but there is probably a labyrinth near where you live. Today we explore…
1. Lynden Sculpture Garden Labyrinth
A 5 circuit classical labyrinth is carved into the prairie has a 69 foot diameter. Plan a trip to the Sculpture Garden on their website. At the time of this writing it is free to visit but check for updates and current hours. All of the wonderful drone photos of the labyrinth were taken by Arie Smouter.
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Address:
2145 W Brown Deer Rd.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53217
2. St. Christopher's Episcopal Church Labyrinth
A 7 circuit labyrinth lined by bricks with grass pathways is located by the parking lot on the south side of the church. A view of the church from the labyrinth to help locate it.
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Address:
7845 N River Rd
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53217
3. Carpenter-Ridgeway Park Labyrinth
This classical 3 circuit labyrinth is made from Autumn Red Holland Stone Pavers. The labyrinth is located in the eastern half of the park past the playground.
Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Address:
1220 Carpenter Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
4. Wolfenbuttel Park Labyrinth
A 6 circuit labyrinth built by Girl Scouts in 2011. Located on the shore of Lake Michigan, the views from this park/labyrinth are excellent ! Plan a trip to the park on the city website.
Location: Kenosha, Wisconsin
Address:
5901 3rd Ave
Kenosha, Wisconsin 53140
5. St. Norbert College Labyrinth
Labyrinth visible starting at 1:12
Football and a Labyrinth ? I’m in. This 11 circuit Chartres style labyrinth is located next to Donald J. Schneider Stadium (the NE side between the pond and the parking lot on the corner).
Location: De Pere, Wisconsin
Address:
1600 Lost Dauphin Rd.
De Pere, Wisconsin 54115
6. Phoenix Park Labyrinth
Labyrinth visible from 0:22-0:40
A classical 7 circuit labyrinth located in the riverbank park on the Chippewa River. Used as a stage for the local concert series (with seating on the surrounding hill.
Location: Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Address:
330 Riverfront Terrace
Eau Claire, WI 54703
7. Earthsong Books & Gifts Labyrinth
Earthsong Books & Gifts Labyrinth Janesville, WI : Photo courtesy Julie Dieterle
A classical 7 circuit labyrinth located beside the book store is made from bricks/pavers with a pathway made from red granite. Plan a trip and learn more about the book/gift shop on the store website. The labyrinth has many very intentional features as explained by it’s designer, Julie Dieterle:
This is a 50 foot diameter labyrinth.. There are many sacred ideas incorporated in the building and walking of it. It was built to be entered from the South. Entering from the south encourages you to envision what you want and asks you to commit to it by saying-- I will do whatever it takes to ........... The six pointed star stands at the entrance. Focus on what you want as you stand in the star. You will stand in the star after your walk and quietly thank the labyrinth for its connection and guidance.
The labyrinth has sacred numbers-- each path is 33 inches across. There are crystals and stones buried to help amplify and focus your intent. The four directions are honored. There is a 12 point design in the center
Location: Janesville, Wisconsin
Address:
2214 Kennedy Rd
Janesville, Wisconsin 53545
8. St. Martin Heritage Park - The Labyrinth of Gratitude
Photos courtesy Dori Ann Schmitz
This 8 circuit medieval labyrinth is located in the SW corner of the park. It is made from rocks with a pear tree marking the center ! Learn more about the park on it’s website. Parking is available next to the road/labyrinth as seen in the park photo above !
Location: New Holstein, Wisconsin
Address:
N3298 County Road T
New Holstein, Wisconsin 53061
5 TIPS FOR VISITING A LABYRINTH
Set an intention for your walk so you can walk with purpose. It could be prayer, reflection, meditation, contemplation, or openness.
Be sure to wear comfortable shoes, as you will be doing a lot of walking.
Bring water with you, especially if you are visiting on a hot day.
Take your time and enjoy the experience. There is no need to rush through a labyrinth.
Be respectful of other visitors. This includes not making noise and being respectful if walking with other people.
5 BOOKS TO READ ABOUT LABYRINTH WALKING
I wrote a blog post reviewing the following 5 books, each that deals with walking labyrinths. You can check them out yourself at the Amazon links below or read this blog post: 5 Books about the Spiritual Aspect of Labyrinths to learn a little about what each book teaches.
Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool by Dr. Lauren Artress 201 pages. AMZN
Labyrinth : Your Path to Self-Discovery by Tony Christie 312 pages. AMZN
Exploring the Labyrinth: A Guide For Healing and Spiritual Growth by Melissa Gayle West 209 pages AMZN
Walking the Labyrinth: A Place to Pray and Seek God by Travis Scholl 240 pages AMZN
Labyrinths from the Outside In: Walking to Spiritual Insight by Rev Dr Donna Schaper and Rev Dr Carole Ann Camp 187 pages AMZN
If you are interested in more spiritual labyrinth aspects I suggest the following websites:
Lauren Artress website - For coaching, workshops and classes.
Veriditas - The nonprofit labyrinth group founded by Lauren Artress
Worldwide Labyrinth Finder - Find a labyrinth to walk near you, or while on vacation
I am a maze artist but I have never made any mazes from Wisconsin. If you have suggestions - drop me a note. Otherwise here are some mazes of famous buildings:
Happy Holidays ! A few years ago I posted daily mazes on the site that were holiday themed. There was a large variety of different types of mazes as I will break down below. Since it is the season once again I thought I would revive them. You have 3 options to get your Holiday Maze fix, with all of the options being free printable kids mazes:
Option 1: Select the specific Christmas Mazes you want in the Christmas Maze section here.
Option 2: Download this book of the daily mazes. Here is what you will find inside this free book:
December 1-10 Create a Maze templates - Holiday themed half completed mazes that have directions on how to finish them. Make a maze then give it to a friend to solve !!
December 11-15 Holiday Avoid/Find Mazes - Mazes for kids where they need to either collect or avoid items on their way to the goal.
December 16-23 Holiday Arrow Mazes - Solve Arrow Mazes in the shape of holiday themed items ( See an example of an Arrow Maze on the cover)
December 24-30 Holiday Weaving Mazes - Mazes with pathways that weave around each other !
December 31 New Years Weaving Maze
HAPPY HOLIDAYS: A(NOTHER) CHRISTMAS THEMED MAZE BOOK Volume 2
31 Christmas themed mazes collected into a book. Includes a variety of maze types - including standard mazes, find items and avoid items mazes, arrow mazes and weaving mazes. Includes a printable Christmas card.
Ages: Most
File Size: 471 KB
If you are looking for a nice gift for Maze lovers I suggest you check out my books on Amazon (because of course I do!!)
Option 3: Here is the original Holiday Maze book ! featuring many different types of Christmas mazes, 31 in total !
HAPPY HOLIDAYS: A CHRISTMAS THEMED MAZE BOOK
31 Christmas themed mazes collected into a book. Includes a variety of maze types - including standard mazes, find items and avoid items mazes, arrow mazes and weaving mazes. Includes a printable Christmas card !
Ages: Most
File Size: 500 KB
I believe each book is kid friendly, but there are a few more difficult mazes.
In 2023 I did a series of posts where I tested AI image generators to see how they would handle making maze art. I asked 10 prompts and evaluated different AI image sites against each other to see how they perform. It didn’t go as well I would have hoped, but I learned a lot. Here are the 2 main posts that summarize the project:
Can AI Generate Mazes? We Tested 12 AI Art Generators to Find Out
What I learned using AI to make maze art
So I wanted to give a few of the sites another chance. Things move quickly in AI and maybe the updates have made them better at making mazes ? So today I re-do the same 10 prompts from April 2023 and see what Canva comes up with 18 months later. Let’s get started !
You can access the Canva website here. You must create an account and sign-in to use the website. Each prompt, or generation will generate 4 images. In 2023 there were 6 styles to choose from: Concept Art, Photo, Painting, Drawing, 3D, and Pattern; Today there are 25 split into 3 sections: Photography. Digital Art and Fine Art. So you have more choices and can use more styles (thank you Canva !).
Prompt 1 - Make a medium difficulty maze of the Eiffel Tower in black and white with arrows at the start and finish
So we have 2023 on the left and 2024 on the right. Every time I look at this I see the batman symbol in the sky. So 2024 actually includes a maze-like design. Both have the Eiffel Tower in black and white. I see an improvement.
Prompt 2 - Draw a medium difficulty large maze of the Empire State Building with the start and goal embedded in the structure
In 2023 we got 2 Empire State Buildings beside each other in black and white with colored pencils on the right side because ? I still am not sure why. 2024: A walled NYC with the Empire State Building at the center surrounded by maze looking walls in the streets. We know who won this one,
Prompt 3 - Draw a difficult maze of the White House pixel art style
2023: No maze, but sweet pixelated White House (or at least a portion of it). 2024: Well at least we have a maze. Oddly the tan maze walls are also mixed along a hedge maze ? So we have 2 mazes ? The White House looks more like a capitol building with the dome. Pixels. No. I give this a push.
Prompt 4 - Draw a difficult maze that looks like a drawing of a famous building in sketch style
The 2023 building looks like a very large building that is full of many impressive books, but I am not sure what building it actually is. 2024 it seems that Canva had a memory and went with the Eiffel Tower again…and did a very interesting version of it ! 2024 punches 2023 in the face.
Prompt 5 - Draw a maze in the style of doyoumaze.com of a skyscraper in NYC
I like both of these. 2023 must be a person looking up from the street at a skyscraper. 2024 decided one skyscraper was not enough. It needed 24 packed tightly together. Both images use blocks instead of maze walls.
Prompt 6 - Draw a maze in the style of Sean C Jackson of a scene from a large outdoor market
2023: You can only buy food at this market if you can get out of the maze. 2024: We have a very busy flea market divided by maze walls. Neither are in the correct style but I prefer the 2024 version.
Prompt 7 - Make a maze of a slice of an orange in color
Slices of oranges embedded in the grass ? Orange walls with white tops ?
Prompt 8 - Make a maze integrated on top of a photograph of a king sitting on his throne looking cantankerous beside his beautiful queen
2024 wins this even though the queen appears to have cut off her leg at the ankle and stitched it to the throne. It still wins because 2023 did not come close to following the prompt.
Prompt 9 - Make a solvable maze that is very large and very difficult to solve because it is so complex
Neither is actually a maze. Push
Prompt 10 - Make a 3d render of a red and blue glossy cube maze
Interesting that these are very similar.
How did Canva do 18 months later ?
Canva has improved, but still can’t generate a real maze. It seemed to follow the prompts more closely and continued to generate interesting outputs even when they weren’t exactly what I wanted. I thought the generations improved in quality.
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