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Maze of the Week #155 is a Monkey maze. The holiday Monkey Day is celebrated each December 14th !
Here was my preview image.
Here is the first version of the maze. For the 2nd week in a row I liked the black and white version !
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: We’re becoming festive this time of year !
Washington DC and the surrounding area has over 50 labyrinths. I have selected 6 of the best that are worth a visit. If you want a full list of labyrinths in the area check out the Worldwide Labyrinth Finder. For the surrounding area, just use a zip code from DC and select the #miles surrounding to see labyrinths from Maryland and Virginia also !
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. Georgetown Waterfront Park Labyrinth
A 7 circuit medieval labyrinth made from painted concrete is located in this wonderful waterfront park. Easy to find with this entry on Google maps.
Location: Washington, DC
Address:
3303 Water St. NW
Washington, DC 20007
2. American University Labyrinth
A 5 circuit medieval labyrinth that is located just south of the Kay Spiritual Center. The university webpage on the labyrinth has great pictures and information if you want to learn more.
Location: Washington, DC
Address:
4400 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20016
3. APA- World Resources Institute Labyrinth
A rooftop labyrinth ! While this is available to the public you do need to check in with the lobby of the building to access it. If you make it to the roof you will be greeted with a 7 circuit Santa Rosa style labyrinth made of concrete. Here is an article on the APA website detailing the opening.
Location: Washington, DC
Address:
10 G Street N.E.
Washington, DC 20002
4. Judy Lowe Neighborhood Park Labyrinth
A 7 circuit labyrinth made from bricks/pavers located in this small neighborhood park. The labyrinth features benches and is accessible from pathways in 3 directions ! Check out this street view of it ! The park has it’s own Facebook Page with photos and videos.
Location: Alexandria, Virginia
Address:
7 E Del Ray Ave.
Alexandria, Virginia 22301
5. Advent Lutheran Church Labyrinth
An 8 circuit Chartres style labyrinth made from bricks/pavers that is located just south of the church on the corner of S 23rd St and S. Arlington Ridge Road. The labyrinth is surrounded by benches, flowers and some lights. Learn more about the labyrinth on the church webpage dedicated to it.
Location: Arlington, Virginia
Address:
2222 S. Arlington Ridge Rd.
Arlington, Virginia 22202
6. Trinity United Methodist Church Labyrinth
This 7 circuit labyrinth made from bricks/pavers is located at the back of the church and can easily be found on Google Maps.
Location: McLean, Virginia
Address:
1205 Dolley Madison Blvd
McLean, Virginia 22101
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 and I have some mazes from Washington DC.
And here are some other interesting mazes you might like:
About 18 months ago I set out to see how AI text to image generators did with prompts to make maze art. I didn’t go how I expected. But AI is being developed and improved very quickly, so I wanted to come back, use the same prompts and see how things have improved. Here are the key blog posts from my first attempt:
Can AI Generate Mazes? We Tested 12 AI Art Generators to Find Out
What I learned using AI to make maze art
Stable Diffusion was middle of the pack my first time around and I think it had a lot of room for improvement with the images it generated. Let’s see how it did 18 months later:
You can access the Stable Diffusion website here. I did quick generations and generated only 1 image per prompt (last time I picked the best of 4).
Prompt 1 - Make a medium difficulty maze of the Eiffel Tower in black and white with arrows at the start and finish
2023
2024
Our new prompt did a better job executing what was asked for. I like the contrast of the white on a grey background. But 2023 is still interesting.
Prompt 2 - Draw a medium difficulty large maze of the Empire State Building with the start and goal embedded in the structure
I think the use of color in the new version is excellent. If you look at the top of the ESB you can see START on the building. There is even an attempt at a maze. The city stretching out behind the ESB is cool. 2024 wins easily !
Prompt 3 - Draw a difficult maze of the White House pixel art style
2024 lost the antennas that 2023 had, so that is an improvement. The marker style from 2023 was cool, but there was no maze…and barely one in 2024. The White House looks better in 2024 though, so 2024 wins again.
Prompt 4 - Draw a difficult maze that looks like a drawing of a famous building in sketch style
2023 looked like a museum or parliament or a stately residence. Oh, and there’s a small maze out front. Cool. 2024 is a sketch style with a nice walled maze. Pick the style you prefer.
Prompt 5 - Draw a maze in the style of doyoumaze.com of a skyscraper in NYC
2023 was a squished building blob. 2024 did a nice ESB maze like image. Easy winner.
Prompt 6 - Draw a maze in the style of Sean C Jackson of a scene from a large outdoor market
Despite each image being interesting in their own way, they are both a fail.
Prompt 7 - Make a maze of a slice of an orange in color
Double fail, but 2024 comes in second to last by a hair.
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 one by a huge margin.
Prompt 9 - Make a solvable maze that is very large and very difficult to solve because it is so complex
2024 is an interesting 5 point perspective wooden box maze. 2023 is….not.
Prompt 10 - Make a 3d render of a red and blue glossy cube maze
2024 only failed once, but 2023 failed 4 times, so there’s that !
Conclusion:
How did Stable Diffusion do ? I think it improved, but Stable Diffusion still cannot make a real maze. It seems to make some interesting ideas and concepts but it hasn’t made any maze art yet.
You may also like:
How to draw over 40 different types of mazes
Different Ways to Solve a Maze
Issue #50 in my comic book cover series is called The Llama Chronicles and features starryai for the background. Check out every comic book cover maze !
Stop back in a week for issue #51 !