#82 Ramalina Menziesii - I first saw this lichen draping from the Western Hemlock trees in a draw sloping down to the river. I edged down the slope with meticulous caution due to my bad knee, frustrated that it would have been effortless two years earlier.
I closely
examined the lichen, noting its twisted ribbon topology in contrast to the whiskers of the dominant draping lichen in the more open forest. I took photos from all angles so I could record multple perspectives of the tangle.
This maze was started in November 2021 and finished in June 2022. Work on this maze was interrupted by two things: the Maze #81 The Lichenologist Kaleidoscope, and a dawning interest in macro photography.
When I draw a maze, there are long sessions of planning as I study the flow patterns of my subjects. I followed the twists of the interconnecting ribbons and realized that there were structures very similar to Möbius strips. This made me laugh.
As mazes go, this one is problably pretty darn difficult. Some of the blind paths are extremely long - that means it looks like you're making great progress but will suddenly find there are nothing but dead ends. I drew this maze at the 16:9 aspect ratio so that it fit better in 4K if I ever have the energy to use this for a maze solution animation.
This clip from just near the red-path start arrow is a personal favorite. Working on shadows with virtual airbrush tools is great fun. It is almost certain that this will inspire a future small scale maze.
This region of the maze is featured in my July 2022 desktop background downloads on Patreon. The download will be enabled on 1 July 2022.