Two artists wove willow boulders into a mowed labyrinth in a Syracuse park

Sponsor-backed public art for Thornden Park in Syracuse; the two natural-material artists had never worked together before.

Hand-woven willow 'boulders' set into a meadow, with a labyrinth mowed around them so walkers trace the shape of Sisyphus's hill.

Schultz spent over 300 hours stripping and weaving donated willow — harvested from a SUNY field — into two boulders rooted in the soil. Reeder let the meadow grow for weeks into grass, chicory and asters, then cut a rough, two-person-wide swirling path with a grass whip and kept it mowed on the incline.

Open to the public in fall 2026; passers-by were already walking the labyrinth and questioning Schultz at work, and both artists hope it stays for years.

At the base of Thornden Park's water tower in Syracuse, artist Sydney Schultz spent more than 300 hours bending and twisting willow branches into waves of rippling wood — two hand-woven boulder sculptures set amid a mowed, swirling grass path created by artist Laura Reeder. The piece, 'The Paths We Weave', is the first collaboration between the two natural-material artists, supported by the Thornden Park Association, Syracuse's parks department, CNY Arts, the Westcott Area Cultural Coalition and Tomorrow's Neighborhoods Today - East Side.

Both artists drew on the central New York landscape and the story of Sisyphus: the region's drumlins — hills shaped by ancient ice — suggested boulders forever being pushed uphill, and Reeder designed her pathway around that urgency. 'Imagine the urgency of having to push something up a difficult hill,' she said. A labyrinth rather than a maze: 'You never get lost. There are no tricks… the labyrinth is meant to give you a peaceful experience where you know that you will always get home again.'

The making was deliberately low-tech. Reeder worked with the Syracuse Department of Parks, Recreation and Youth Programs to rope off the spot, let the meadow grow for weeks until tall grass, chicory and white flowers emerged, then roughed out the path with a grass whip before mowing it regularly — a challenge on the hill's incline. Schultz harvested donated willow from a field owned by SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, stripped each piece of leaves, tested its pliability, and stuck the branches deep into the ground to build each boulder's base.

The design came from walking the site: Reeder calls herself a walking artist and let the ground, not a plan, decide the path.

Sisyphus and the drumlins gave a local landform a narrative, so the walk has a story as well as a shape.

Choosing willow, grass and hand tools kept the piece negotiable — Schultz could still move or add boulders as the meadow responded.

Public art doesn't need a fabrication budget: a meadow, a mower and harvested willow were enough to turn a park hill into a walkable myth.

For now the installation has two boulders; Schultz has plotted other spots but may not have time to weave them this fall. Visitors were already walking the labyrinth and asking her questions mid-work — one morning a hawk sat atop a boulder — and both artists hope 'The Paths We Weave' lives in Thornden Park for years.