Today we celebrate the birthday of our fabulous team member Christine. Here is just a little bit of the story about her experience with Circles in the Sand, as told by her.
In 1980, my husband and I moved our family to Bandon, and we retired to our dream home on the bluff overlooking the beach in 2004.
I heard there was someone making labyrinths on the beach, so I investigated and found Denny Dyke, who pushed a rake into my hand and invited me to groom the pathway he had created. I was hooked!
For a couple of years, it was just Denny and me, was well as anyone else we could snooker into grooming. He taught me how to create different types of labyrinths, and I became his assistant path maker.
But my favorite activity was adding artistic details, and with Denny's encouragement decorated the dreamfields with waves, cucrlicues, swirls and a variety of sea creatures. He asked if I could draw a mermaid, and Meri came to life. I surprised myself with my drawings, as I have had no artistic training.
Over the 6 years I've been a sand artist with Circles, I've watched the labyrinths become larger, more complex, and more meaningful. There are now a dozen people on the Team Circles, and each one contributes unique talents and positive attributes to the labyrinth experience.
I'm honored and humbled by my role with Circles in the Sand. I look forward to the next (and every) time we gather on the beach to create a labyrinth.
Christine adds her wonderful artistic talents first to the Dedication Circle and then to the rest of the Dreamfield. She is known for her sea turtles, Zen art and of course, her mermaid Meri. She always knows just the right words to write in the sand near the paths exit. Christine we wish you the happiest of birthdays today! Thanks for all you do for Circles in the Sand.
Photo credits: Donna Belt, Susan Dimock, Bethe Patrick