Projects: Hop Dots, Rope, Bamboo, Tire Mazes, Labyrinth Maze and Fairy Paths
Hop Dots
A client had a few dozen concrete circle pavers and asked what I could do with them. So, I designed Hop Dots. He boxed them in with railroad ties, filling in with mulch. As you can see, the result is colorful and lively. The maze (I know it does not look like one), is challenging though children as young as 8 can solve it—eventually.
The object is to hop from one dot to another only if the inner circle or the outer circle is the same color. The pavers can be inlaid in turf or the circles can be painted on a concrete pad or on decking. I can design larger mazes; all depends how many pavers you have.
Dave Phillips
The object is to hop from one dot to another only if the inner circle or the outer circle is the same color. The pavers can be inlaid in turf or the circles can be painted on a concrete pad or on decking. I can design larger mazes; all depends how many pavers you have.
Dave Phillips
Rope Mazes
I have designed a fair number of rope mazes. They are very poplar since children can follow the maze, or they can duck under or climb over the ropes. They feature a central tower with rope netting to climb up. I recommend pirate flags on the tower to enhance a fun, nautical theme. I include a game that scores depending on the time it takes to solve the maze.
You may think these mazes are easy to follow, but I have had adults spend twenty minutes in these mazes without getting to the tower, swearing the maze impossible. There is nothing obscuring the view of the tower but the perspective of the rope and posts is bewildering. The solution spirals around the center in such a way that one must make a choice away from the center: antinutritive.
My rope mazes require two-inch rope with round posts around four feet out of the ground. An area of 50 feet square or more is good.
Dave Phillips
You may think these mazes are easy to follow, but I have had adults spend twenty minutes in these mazes without getting to the tower, swearing the maze impossible. There is nothing obscuring the view of the tower but the perspective of the rope and posts is bewildering. The solution spirals around the center in such a way that one must make a choice away from the center: antinutritive.
My rope mazes require two-inch rope with round posts around four feet out of the ground. An area of 50 feet square or more is good.
Dave Phillips
|
Bamboo Mazes
|
I love bamboo mazes though they are a commitment to install and maintain. It takes about two years for their roots to establish. I highly recommend including fencing to protect and support the walls from damage as kids will want to cut through. I also recommend staff supervision since guests are well-hidden. With the pitfalls in mind, live bamboo makes a magical maze. When it matures, the bamboo creates a dense canopy, a relief on hot days. New shoots emerge in the spring and grow to full height in a season. They are easily discouraged from growing in the paths. I design these mazes with the Finger Game in mind (see Games). Contact Maize Quest for help installing a bamboo maze. Dave Phillips |
|
Tire Mazes
|
I designed a tire maze for Sease Farm in North Carolina. It is made of thousands of used tires stacked about 6 feet high. The tires form a solid barrier and is a wonder to experience. The design is consecutive circles around a center goal. Naturally, I take advantage of the curving paths in such a way that if one makes choices to move closer to the center, one never reaches it.
The tires were free and make great walls once filled with dirt. If you are interested in an installation like this, I will also put you in contact with Clinton Sease.
Dave Phillips
The tires were free and make great walls once filled with dirt. If you are interested in an installation like this, I will also put you in contact with Clinton Sease.
Dave Phillips
Labyrinth Maze
I confess, this is not a real installation but a computer contrived proposal for a labyrinth maze I am trying get the Wilmington Art Museum to install on their grounds at the site of an old reservoir. I bet it fooled you, though. Please contact me if you want to install this design. I am very motivated and will license this design for travel expenses to visit it. It requires about 100 feet diameter and a lot of paint and hard work. Maybe I will help.
This design incorporates a maze and a labyrinth. You can follow the blue path as a labyrinth without choices to the center, or you can follow the yellow path as a maze to the center. One can’t exist without the other.
Dave Phillips
This design incorporates a maze and a labyrinth. You can follow the blue path as a labyrinth without choices to the center, or you can follow the yellow path as a maze to the center. One can’t exist without the other.
Dave Phillips
Fairy Path
|
I designed a woodland fairy maze for the Spoutwood Fairy Festival in Glen Rock PA. I have run it myself for the past ten years or so. The festival is on the first weekend in May attracting old hippies, gypsies, and city folk out for a wonderful day of music, and fairy fancies. Children are adorned in fairy wings, face paint, and colorful costumes as are many adults. There is also a dark fairy realm but we won’t get into that.
My maze covers a couple of acres of woods and consists of winding paths. I make use of a wonderful magical tree of seven trunks with leaves of seven (it is a hickory). The key to making the maze magical is the use rough branch walls in places and the liberal use of gauze and various fairy baubles. I recommend fairy mazes as a part of a farm park or nursery who are lucky enough to have woods. I use a fairy version from my popular Finger Game series. If not a maze, I recommend any excuse to make a magical woodland trail. Spoutwood also includes a woodland trail with fairy habitats. Contact me for more information on making fairy habitats. See also Projects 1 and Projects 3. Dave Phillips |