Grosse Pointe Woods woman breaks Guinness record with hand drawn maze

GROSSE POINTE, Mich. - When artist Michelle Boggess-Nunley unrolls her maze, she’s reminded of the 3 months of hard work it took to break a world record. But, this isn’t just about getting recognized by Guinness. 

“It was really a feel good moment because we raised money for the kids and it was one of those things like yes, we did it. Everyone felt good,” she said. 

At 1,126 square feet, the world’s largest hand drawn maze, winds around a soccer field - beating the previous record of 1,072 square feet. People around the world sponsored a section and some of the proceeds went towards the Detroit Living Arts. The nonprofit provides programs for kids in the city. 

Boggess-Nunley wanted to help after finding out they lost money because of the pandemic. 

“Art is so important right now in our community and I’m a firm believer that art helps children grow in school and in life,” she said. “When I found out during COVID they were underfunded, I just thought I should do something to help.”

In all, Boggess-Nunley raised at least $4,000. She grew the maze at Posterity Galley in Downtown Grosse Pointe and carefully followed Guinness’ strict guidelines. 

“It was crazy,” she said. “You had to have two witnesses at all times and they had to watch every minute of it, like every second. They had to be there focusing on my drawing. It ended up being 300 hours, I think. Maybe even 350 hours total. The maze portion couldn’t exceed 1 cm throughout the entire maze.”

Boggess-Nunley found out she officially broke the record last week - leaving this artist with memories she’ll never forget. 

“It was the best feeling in the world,” she said. “I hope it inspires children, I hope it inspires people to get involved in the art community and if they have a dream or a goal to just do it. This wasn’t about me, this wasn’t about breaking a record, this was about bringing the art community together.