The Carleton Place Community Labyrinth will be celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2025! The focus for this year is to restore and renew the gardens at the labyrinth.
What has been accomplished so far?
As a first step we held a “Hosta Party” and a few volunteers (former Labyrinth Committee members) got together and planted more than 20 hostas under the Spruce trees bordering the contemplation ring. We plan to add some bulbs this fall – for a bright spot of colour next Spring.
It has been wonderful to also have the company of the Carleton Place and District Horticulture Society volunteer gardeners on our Tuesday garden tending days. We are collaborating to make the grounds of the Carleton Place Beckwith and Heritage Museum property beautifully landscaped, in an open and flowing manner.
A big change took place when four old and overgrown shrubs (a type of spirea) were removed, with the help of the Town of Carleton Place Parks and Recreation crew. Suddenly things felt more spacious and flowing. Summer staff have helped with garden tending when time permitted.
We are thankful that the Carleton Place Hackberry Men’s Shed folks have been able to help too. So far, the benches at the labyrinth have been power washed and are going to be sanded. The split rail fence is going to be repaired or replaced. And the Community Labyrinth sign lettering is going to be repainted.
We used to have a budget for labyrinth activities through the Carleton Place in Bloom subcommittee, but since it's closure we now rely completely on community donations. So far enough money has been raised to hire a local gardening company, Shelley The Garden Gal, to help with the heavy work of preparing the garden beds for planting.
What is still needed? How you can help!
We are looking for volunteers that can help at a gardening work party on Tuesday October 1st – from 9 am till noon-ish. See information about registering below.
To date we are encouraged to have raised more than 60% of our fundraising goal. But we still need additional financial donations to help us obtain the plants and bulbs for the garden restoration. We may also need more soil, compost and mulch.
To volunteer or make a donation, please contact:
Christine Hume
Volunteer Labyrinth Keeper and Certified Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator
Cel: 613 859 2136
Email: christinehume@bell.net
Join us at "Light up the Labyrinth" in Fall 2025 for a special 15th anniversary celebration!
The intention for this year is to revitalize the gardens at the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth. They were originally designed and planted in 2011. And fourteen years later the gardens surrounding the labyrinth are no longer in good shape. They are overgrown, weedy, need edging and mulch, and more.
There is currently not an active committee looking after the labyrinth, the Town of Carleton Place cuts the grass but does not tend the gardens. The idea is to have a master gardener help provide some plant replacement ideas. Once there is a plan and when we secure some funding, a gardener and crew will help to do a one-time clean up of the beds.
We had a good start with a Hosta planting party at the labyrinth last week. A small group of former Labyrinth committee members, with the help of a Carleton Place and Districut Horticultural Society member, planted several dozen Hostas under the spruce trees bordering the Labyrinth.
All who come to walk the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth comment on the peace and tranquility they find at this special place. We are very hopeful that the beauty of the gardens will soon be restored.
I decided to go an a special journey this past summer and took myself on a retreat to ASA Adirondack - A Sanctuary for the Soul. I have been a volunteer labyrinth keeper with the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth since 2010 or perhaps even a bit longer. I did my Veriditas Labryrinth Facilitator training with Lauren Artress here in Ottawa in May of 2010. And I was feeling the need to reflect on what might be next for me in terms of the labyrinth and also my mosaic art practise.
It also helped that Tony Christie, a labyrinth expert I greatly admire, was coming to the States for the first time to co-facilitate the retreat. And when I asked Christine Powers (the owner of the retreat) about the possibility of camping - was offered to opportunity to stay in the Enlightenment Hut. I was warned that it was rustic (off-grid and no washroom facilities) but I felt intuitively that it was exactly right for me.
We had several very powerful Zoom sessions leading up to the retreat - that totally helped me to prepare for the journey. I was also drawn to going to prospect for some Herkimer diamonds along the way (they can only be found in upper New York state). I had actually been told about the Herkimer diamonds by a participant at my original labyrinth facilitator training back in 2010. And was reminded about them when I came across a lucid dream ritual that incorporated a Herkimer diamond - while getting ready for this trip.
And finally I also knew to bring a very special mosaic project with me to get started on - while staying in my off-grid cabin. A friend had drawn/painted a mandala in memory of dear friend of both of ours. She commissioned me to create a mosaic based on her piece of art. Before leaving on my journey, I spent time pulling together a palette of mosaic materials for the project. The mosaic was eventually going to be installed on a fairly heavy stone – that I left at home!
The retreat was everything I hoped for and more. The setting in the southern part of the Adirondacks was wild and beautiful. From my cabin window I could see ranges of mountain peaks. My cabin mosaic studio was great. I would work on the mosaic first thing in the morning and from time to time during the day when we had some personal time.
We had several sharing circles, guided labyrinth walks, a guided group meditation and were just generally very well cared for. The meals were food for the soul, feasts prepared by the culinary goddesses! And of course, the people that attended were also meant to be there and added greatly to the overall experience.
On my final morning I spent time in a quiet area in the woods. I clambered up to the top of a lovely huge boulder and reflected on my time away and what a gift it was to myself. I know I am on the right path on my creative journey and look forward to whatever comes next.
It's almost mid-summer and I am happy to tell you there are a few events that will be held at the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth this year. Up until now I have been tending the gardens at the labyrinth on most Tuesdays and enjoying my peaceful, quiet time there.
Tuesdays at 9 am - May 3rd until September 26th.
Weekly garden tending at the labyrinth.
Volunteers to help are very welcome!
Sunday July 16th & Sunday August 27th 10 am - “Yoga on the Labyrinth” with Charlotte Pragnell
Come and enjoy a guided meditation followed by a relaxing and meditative yoga session at the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth. The session will be facilitated by Charlotte Pragnell, an experienced yoga teacher. Bring your own yoga mat, all are welcome. Donations will support sending soccer cleats and uniforms to Zambia.
Saturday September 23rd 1 to 3 pm – “Switch Plate Painting Lesson “ with Colleen Gray
Give your old plastic switch plates some creative love! No art skills required. This is just fun and so easy to do! Paint as many switch plates as you like in 2 hours. You bring the plastic switch plates (and screws). All other materials supplied.
The workshop will be held indoors at the Carleton Place Beckwith and Heritage Museum, with a pre-workshop grounding session on the labyrinth, then a bit of an energy release at the labyrinth at the end of the event.
Workshop fee $40. Maximum number for this in-person workshop is 20 participants. To reserve your spot, e-transfer to colleengrayart@gmail.com, use “switch” as the password.
NOTE: We will be using 99% pure alcohol. This event is not suitable for young children.
For more information contact:
Christine Hume
Volunteer Labyrinth Keeper
Veriditas Certified Labyrinth Facilitator
christinehume@bell.net
Cel: 613 859 2136
I am happy to say that we are reopening the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth this year and have planned some events for 2022. Save the dates!
Tuesdays, starting May 3rd until the end of September 9 am – Weekly garden tending at the labyrinth.
Saturday May 7th 1 pm - “World Labyrinth Day” with Christine Hume Walk the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth at 1:00 p.m. on World Labyrinth Day to help create a rolling wave of peace passing from one time zone to the next around the globe. Also to commemorate “National Start Seeing Monarchs Day” some sunflower and milkweed seeds will be planted at the labyrinth.
Some sunflower seeds will be planted on World Labyrinth Day.
Saturday May 14th 1 pm - “Crystal Grid Workshop ” by "Paint with Janet" Introduction to Crystal Grids through an exploration of Sacred Geometry and Crystal Energy. This workshop will be facilitated by "Paint with Janet". Includes everything you need to paint your 10" x 10" wooden canvas and a mystery bag of crystals. Walk the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth and spend some time reflecting and journaling about your experience. Workshop fee $60. To register, e-transfer to janet.beath@sympatico.ca
Paint your own Crystal Grid, followed by a labyrinth walk.
NEW DATE Saturday August 27th 2022 10 am - “Yoga on the Labyrinth” with Charlotte Pragnell Come and enjoy a relaxing and meditative yoga session at the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth. The session will be facilitated by Charlotte Pragnell, an experienced yoga teacher. Bring your own yoga mat, all are welcome. A portion of the donations from today’s walk will support humanitarian relief efforts in the Ukraine.
Yoga on the labyrinth, a relaxing and meditative experience.
NEW DATE Saturday August 20th 2022 10 am “Sock Project” Labyrinth Walk with Jessica Lynn Baird Wear a pair of crazy socks and walk the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth. The Sock Project gifts socks to inspire hope in folks suffering chronic illness. A portion of donations from today’s walk will go to support the Sock Project.
Wear a pair of fun socks and walk the labyrinth to support a good cause.
DATE CORRECTION Saturday September 24th 2022 9 am to 11 am - “Creativity on the Labyrinth” – inspired by Dahlias with Brittiny Lepage, The Dahlia Darling A labyrinth helps to evoke your creativity! Come and explore your creative self, create a mosaic; collage; sketch or painting inspired by Dahlias. This creativity session will be facilitated by "The Dahlia Darling" Brittiny Lepage.
Enjoy a creativity session, inspired by Dahlias!
Donations in support of the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth programming are gratefully accepted.
For more information contact: Christine Hume Volunteer Labyrinth Keeper - Carleton Place Community Labyrinth Veriditas Certified Labyrinth Facilitator christinehume@bell.net Cel: 613 859 2136
I have been meaning to capture some of the highlights of my 2020 Artist-in-Residency (AIR) experience with Muskoka Chautauqua. Of course - early in the year I was anticipating going back for another week to teach a mosaic workshop - this time at The New Baldwins Resort in Windermere, Ontario - on the shores of Lake Rousseau. I had booked mid-July, 2020 in my calendar.
To learn more about my AIR experience in 2019 - go here.
But as time went by, and we went into full lockdown due to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic, it became quite clear that things were just not going
to be the same. I received this email on June 10th, 2020:
Good Morning All, Just wanted to provide another update regarding AIR this year. Clevelands House in Minett has announced that they will not be opening to provide accommodations this year, nor will there be accommodations provided in Windermere. This news, combined with group gatherings being prohibited, means that we will be unable to conduct our AIR programming in the traditional sense. However, we will be continuing to offer it virtually via livestream/zoom or pre-recorded videos. These videos will be posted during the weeks each artist was scheduled for (provided you would like to still participate).
These virtual workshop videos can either be: one video for your scheduled week of a couple different ones (it is completely up to you). Please let us know if you would be able to record a video of yourself teaching a workshop or if you need assistance with filming.
Kind regards, Kelly Hart Muskoka Chautauqua
I considered this carefully and then replied:
Hi Kelly:
Thanks for your email about this year’s AIR programme – and the idea to offer our workshops virtually this year.
I have given some thought to how I could teach my yellow mosaic workshop via video – see outline attached. Participants would need a kit – that could include the loan of tools and/or they would have to have their own tools. You could consider offering delivery services for the kits within a specified region.
I don’t have the capacity to shoot the videos as described – but I could come to Muskoka and we could do the video shoot at your end.At the same time I could bring the participant kits.
Let me know how you would like to proceed.
Thanks!
Christine
Getting ready to assemble the mosaic kits
After a bit of back and forth, a plan came together to do a very professional video shoot involving five artists in mid-August. I decided to develop some Yellow Camino Mosaic arrow kits, complete with a
set of instructions. And planned to create one arrow during the video
shoot - accompanied by me teaching the process - if that seemed
appropriate. I was ready! And then just "let it go" after that and trusted
the creative process.
Hi Christine
Yes Friday, August 14th, 2020 at 1:30.
There will be 5 artists in total that we will be videoing.
We will have a light supper at around 5 pm.
One of our friends have offered their boathouse accommodation for you.
We are shooting from the 12th to the 15th.
You are welcome to hang out with us.
We are looking forward to some fun.
We create the path by walking.
Warmest
G
Yellow Camino Arrow mosaic kit complete with instructions
Dock-sitting on Carson Lake near Barry's Bay was a wonderful respite.
I enjoyed my road trip to get there, staying one night with a friend at her home on a lake, just outside of Barry's Bay. We spent time dock-sitting and star-gazing - a wonderful respite from the worries of the pandemic.
The next day I rose early and continued on my way to Windermere to meet the folks from Muskoka Chautauqua and the fellow artists who were also participating in the video shoot. The shoot was just one activity being held during their "virtual" Windermere 2020 Village Festival of the Arts.
I spent the afternoon enjoying a creative dramatic presentation and a compelling session led by an indigenous elder. Those attending gathered in a Circle and experienced an engaging and, at times, emotional journey. Meegwetch for the teachings of this day.
My accommodations on Lake Rousseau!
And I got to stay in a boat house on Lake Rousseau - just minutes away from the video shoot location. There is something incredibly soothing about hearing lake waters lapping below you - while enjoying a light meal on the deck and later being gently lulled to sleep by the sound.
It is amazing where my mosaic journey is taking me!
The day of the video shoot was very enjoyable. Each of the artists had their own outdoor studio space to set up. The professional video crew traveled from artist to artist - taking photos and filming as we were engaged in creating. It was great to have the opportunity to meet each other during and after the shoot - and share stories of our creative journeys.
I am taking some time to reflect on a very different kind of year at the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth. As of early March 2020 it became apparent that our planned schedule of community events needed to be put on indefinite hold. But the "labyrinth keeper" in me realized there was still something that I could do. Following is a diary of the year...
CARLETON PLACE LABYRINTH IN THE MEDIA
Thankful for these posts that helped to continue building awareness of our lovely labyrinth:
April 8 - Garden tending. For most of April I would go to the labyrinth - and tend one garden at a time; trimming the grasses - and feeling better for being there - working away quietly and meditatively.
April 18 - Labyrinth opens. Message of encouragement at the start of this year's journal.
May 13 - My labyrinth walk, finding art (Hope!) along the path
JUNE 2020
June 7 Thought for today's labyrinth walk... dawdle and walk aimlessly - inspired by Thich Nhat Hahn
June 8 A gift of stones left at the labyrinth
June 23 Rainbow of hope mosaic, created by Christine Hume Mosaics. (Wherein I participate in an online project called "Mosaic a Rainbow of Hope" organized by my mosaic teacher Suzanne Spahi, in Italy!)
JULY 2020
July 7 Picnic and barefoot labyrinth walk
AUGUST 2020
2020 Journal Entries... So good to know people are finding solace in walking the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth during these challenging times!
SEPTEMBER 2020
In the Fall we reopened - it was good to be able to offer several community events.
September 6 - Drone photo taken of the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth! (Photo credit: Sean Kilpatrick)September 6 and 20 - Yoga at the Labyrinth.
OCTOBER 2020
October 4 - St. Francis Day walk with your companion animals!
While this year has been challenging on many levels, tending and walking the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth has kept me grounded and encouraged me to follow my intuition and simply trust the path! A very good reminder that things are often "solved by walking"... See you at the Labyrinth :)
