When I arrived, I discovered a labyrinth in their sculpture garden, and immediately began to walk it. As I made one of the turns, I was astonished to see the ghostly image of my friend, Judy Hopen, sitting in the center, repairing the paint job on the labyrinth. I cobbled together a collage using a photo I took of the labyrinth that day, and one I had of Judy, to replicate my vision.
Vision of Judy in the labyrinth at The National Gallery of the Cayman Islands on Grand Cayman
(Image by Meryl Ann Butler) Details DMCA
Judy was the the director of Robert Ferre's Labyrinth Enterprises Studio in St. Louis. Before she passed away in 2012 at 52, she had painted more canvas labyrinths than anyone else in history, estimates range from 800 to over 1,000 (artists often don't keep very close track of these things!)
Additionally, Judy worked on many other labyrinth installations. After checking, I discovered that the labyrinth on Grand Cayman was indeed a project of Ferre's studio, although labyrinth designer Chuck Hunner headed up the project, and Judy didn't actually go to the island. Still, there was a connection, and it was an emotional moment for me to unexpectedly "see" her there.
M. E. 'Beth' Langley and the 3-circuit labyrinth she made in her front yard.
(Image by M. E. 'Beth' Langley) Details DMCA
Opednews visited with M.E. (Beth) Langley, a semi-retired Montessori administrator who has a BA from Columbia College, holds a credential in Montessori Early Childhood Education, is a Veriditas Certified Labyrinth Facilitator and serves on The Labyrinth Society (TLS) Board of Directors as Nominating Chair.
She's designed and installed over a dozen labyrinths, and facilitated workshops all over the US as well as in Canada, Mexico, and Croatia.
We shall walk together on this path of life, for all things are part of the universe, and are connected with each other to form one whole unity.
-Dr. Maria Montessori
Meryl Ann Butler: Thanks for visiting with us, Beth! I know you have created a number of labyrinths involved with Montessori schools, can you tell us about a couple of them?
M. E. "Beth" Langley: Thank you for inviting me, Meryl Ann! I love to talk about labyrinths, and I really like teaching others how to draw or create them.
My favorite temporary labyrinth was one on the beach beside Kingston Plantation Resort in Myrtle Beach, SC. I had doodled turtle labyrinths for almost a year after I found out that the Montessori Educational Programs International (MEPI) conference would be sharing venue space the following year with the International Sea Turtle Society (ISTS) symposium.
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