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Hey! Send me images that you've taken of us working! It's OK to send them edited - cropped and sized to 72 dpi. I won't promise to use them all, but I'll try! Please send me your name at the same time too so I can credit the picture to you. . . Hm. on second thought. :-) Please only send me your best 3 images per day. That way I won't have 150 images to sort through. :-) It's just after 11pm now and I'd like to get to sleep but I'm having too much fun building this blog.

Today, we finished our layout of the dimensions, cut 7 of the concentric paths (see the image at the end of the text), and Robert finished laying out the lunations (the MOST fiddly and exacting job of the whole project!). We're working well together, though a little less than a day behind our schedule. It always seems to go this way. We start out slowly and then pick up steam. I expect that we will be close to finished with the cutting of the pattern by Wednesday evening. Thursday we'll come back and complete the center and then invest the day detailing our cuts into the cement.

I forget that most of the readers are not familiar with our labyrinth making process!

• We arrive and unpack our tools.
• Find the center of where the labyrinth is supposed to be installed.
• Find the exact center of the entrance to the labyrinth.
• We install a temporary center post from which we'll 'draw' the labyrinth. I write 'draw' because most people don't imagine drawing as being done with an 8 inch circular saw. But that's what we do. Essentially, we create a compass almost 21 feet long with a saw attached to the end of it and 'draw' in the hard concrete. Call it etch or inscribe or cut about 3/16ths of an inch into the concrete, but it's really just drawing.
• Sometime earlier in the process, the diameter of the Chartres style labyrinth being installed has been determined. In the case of the FPC of Livermore, it's a full sized Chartres using the Veriditas variation. Full sized means that it's close to 42 feet, 3 and 3/8ths inches in diameter. Veriditas variation means that it has thick areas between the path ends for people to step off the path but still be able to stand in the pattern while your friends continue their walks. Visually, it accentuates the cruciform in the circle. Using the diameter, Robert calculates the dimensions of the labyrinth. He's written a great pamphlet on how to make your own Chartres labyrinth. Go to his product page to see the selection of books he has written.
• We lay out the dimensions along one of the axes, set up the big saw and cut the big circles. The last two images for today show Robert demonstrating the best cutting technique and the results of today's cutting.
• Measuring the lunations around the circumference is fun. A hundred and twelve of them have to be symmetrically arrayed around the edge. It is an exacting moment in the construction of this labyrinth. I'm glad that Robert got to do this today. I cut circles along with David , Kathy, and Michael.
• So the circles get cut.
• The ends of the circle cuts are connected at path ends and labrys.
• Straight lines at the entrance get cut.
• The six petaled Rose at the center gets cut
• All the lines are closely inspected and detailed (connecting lines which don't quite meet, making shallow lines deeper - mostly just enhancing the pattern that we've cut out) where ever necessary.
• Then we color the lines for the next 3 or 4 days.
• Finally we seal the concrete with a special resin to protect and preserve it.

From left to right, Robert demonstrating how to cut, David adjusting his safety goggles, Kathy holding the tube from the shop vac we use for dust abatement, and Michael learning more than he ever expected. The diagonal strips of tape in the left foreground holds our measurements for cutting.

The seven paths cut today.

We enjoyed a delightful meal of guacamole, gourmet olives, salmon, rice, steamed vegeys, french bread, Livermore wine, and ice cream with Marvin and Mary V. this evening. Thank you! Thanks to everyone for your lovely hospitality!
Wow! 15 or 16 wineries with in 10 miles of town!

Chuck Hunner, September 13, 2005

On to the next page!