Do you like to solve mazes? I believe that most of us would have engaged with some mazes in our childhoods – mostly on paper, and possibly also in a park. Some of us may still enjoy solving the occasional maze puzzle now and then. If you are one of them, I may have just the thing for you…
I vaguely remember writing a maze generating computer program back in the eighties, but mazes rarely crossed my mind again after that. However, as a pattern designer I got interested in maze design again when I thought of using a maze as texture for a pattern element. The regular grid of a maze makes it very suitable for repeat patterns that look uniform at a distance yet have a distinct – and meaningful – texture up close.
So, I developed some software tools to assist me in handcrafting seamlessly repeating and slanted, square or triangular mazes, as well as standalone mazes that fit into my intended shapes and patterns.

By now, I have created dozens of surface patterns and art prints that feature mazes in one way or another. And each of these mazes is a ‘perfect maze’, meaning it has no loops or isolated areas, and one unique solution. So, they are perfectly solvable, if you are a true fan of mazes (most of them are very big and hence quite challenging…).
But it struck me recently that very few people, if any, would ever attempt to actually solve a maze on an art print, a tablecloth or a wallpaper - even if I think that would be a great way to while away your time in a doctor’s waiting room, let’s say.

I also noticed that there are a lot of maze books and printable mazes offered for download out there, and while the bulk of those are aimed at young kids, there seems to be a sizeable bunch of adult maze enthusiasts who might enjoy tackling my mazes as puzzles.
So, I decided to make some of my maze art available as free downloads, ready for printing and solving on paper. It does take a bit of work to translate my art into conveniently printable, black-and-white, A4-sized PDFs, but I hope they will find an appreciative audience. And I’ll be using this newsletter to introduce each new downloadable as soon as it becomes available. So, make sure you subscribe, if you are one of those maze enthusiasts!