About Lea

Hello! And, welcome to my bio page!

I happened upon and walked my first labyrinth in 1993 at the Angela Center in Santa Rosa, California while achieving my doctorate in psychology, and have been captivated ever since. My life work brings an inquisitive heart to educating, designing, making, and researching labyrinths as well as creating art from a variety of mediums.

I most enjoy creating and exploring labyrinths in the company of others. My creative endeavors with the labyrinth have been greatly influenced by curiosity and research into the labyrinths of antiquity. My labyrinth creations have a solid foundation upon the labyrinth designs that have survived the forces of time.

I have created many contemporary labyrinths, including the Santa Rosa Labyrinth, the SNOOPY™ Labyrinth for the Charles M. Schulz Museum, the Ladybug Labyrinth for children (and adults!) as well as traditional and contemporary personal designs. I have facilitated labyrinth installations for public and religious organizations, corporations, and private individuals in Sonoma, Mendocino, and Marin County and across the United States. In 2008, my Santa Rosa Labyrinth Design was installed on the first green roof top garden by the American Psychological Association in Washington, DC. I have given classes and experiential labyrinth talks at Sonoma State University, Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa High School, Luther Burbank Home and Gardens, and to numerous organizations including the Labyrinth Society and the Philanthropic Education Organization (PEO). I was the keynote speaker at the 4th annual New England Labyrinth Guild Festival in 2005, the Northwest Labyrinth Gathering in 2007, and one of the three featured speakers at the 2009 International Labyrinth Society Gathering in 2009.

Collaborative labyrinth projects include: The Labyrinth & Sea Project: Worldwide Circle of Labyrinths commemorating the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the Angela Retreat Center, the Luther Burbank Performing Arts Center, and the First Night celebrations in Santa Rosa, CA and numerous other labyrinthian forays with other labyrinthers at retreats, on beaches, in parks, and any surface that can be drawn upon.

I am an active member of the Labyrinth Society and on the Research Committee, and a participant in the Labyrinth In Schools Group. I used the Santa Rosa design in my doctoral research to explore and demonstrate the psychological significance of the labyrinth. My research focused specifically on the relevance of the life-long process of individuation with particular attention to the transitional period of adolescence using the labyrinth as a container for these explorations.

I live in the downtown of Santa Rosa, California with two Aussiedoodles and a 22 foot Santa Rosa Labyrinth in our backyard. My step-son Orin Harris has been a tremendous help with geometry and my labyrinth projects. I am a sixth generation Californian with family roots in grape growing and wine making in the Alexander and San Joaquin Valleys of California (labyrinth research has led me to the link between labyrinth making and the art of wine-making!). In the vineyards and rolling hills of the Sonoma County, I have had room to further explore my interest of how our heart's desire can assist in bringing forth our creative potential.

I would like to thank here, the many people who have been midwives in assisting me in bringing forth the Santa Rosa Labyrinth as well as bringing me inspiration for other creations and labyrinth endeavors.

Click Here: LGHCV.pdf for a copy of my Curriculum Vitae.