In 2020, when the world shut down, so did so many of our creative spaces. Schools, senior centers, and community programs across Metro Detroit lost funding — and with them, countless students lost access to art.

At the time, I was running On The Gogh Studio, a traveling art program that brought hands-on creativity to classrooms, community centers, and senior living facilities. Overnight, my work stopped — and so did the creative outlets for the people I served.

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So I picked up a roll of paper, a pen, and an idea.

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What started as a personal project to support local art programs quickly grew into a community-powered mission. I began drawing a maze — and with every line, more people joined in. Anyone who donated could request a doodle inside the maze. Soon, it wasn’t just a drawing. It was a living record of our community’s resilience, connection, and creativity during a time of isolation.

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Over 300 names, doodles, tributes, and tiny stories found their way into the maze. Birthday wishes. Memorials. Pets. Anniversaries. Inside jokes. Family symbols. Each one added by someone who believed in supporting the arts when it mattered most.

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The maze became more than paper and ink — it became a shared moment in history.

And in the process, it grew into the largest hand-drawn maze ever created, earning a Guinness World Record.

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The Challenge Beyond the Lines

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Drawing the maze was only half the journey. Meeting the strict Guinness World Record requirements was a challenge all its own — and honestly, harder than finishing the maze!

Some of the official rules included:

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• Maze path could not exceed 1 cm in width

• Two independent witnesses had to observe the entire creation process

• The entire drawing had to be continuously recorded on video

• The maze had to be drawn in a public space

• It had to be proven solvable, with the winning path shown

• A certified land surveyor had to measure the maze

• Measurements applied to the drawing itself — not the paper edge

• A single, complete photograph of the maze fully unrolled was required

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Below, you’ll find videos of the measurement process, a time-lapse of the drawing, and the official Guinness announcement.

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More Than a Record

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This maze began as a response to a crisis — but it became a celebration of human creativity, connection, and community support. Even in one of the most uncertain times in modern history, people found a way to come together through art.

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Thank you to every person who added a doodle, donated, cheered from afar, or walked the maze with me.

This record belongs to all of us.