Temple Building Progresses

We have had three successful work parties since the last blog post in November, 2012. As a result, the structural portion of building the Temple of Life is nearly complete. We have built the walls, cut in the windows, sheathed it all in plywood and, last weekend, we framed and sheathed the roof deck on top of the central tower. All of this done by cheerful volunteers in less than optimal weather.

At the December work party we built and sheathed all of the walls at the first level. The weather was cold but not windy. We also built the framing of the upper walls and cut the upper windows out of the plywood sheathing. We didn't put the walls up, though. This would take several people so we decided to wait for the January work party for that.

In January we had quite a crew of young strong guys which was just perfect for lifting the pre-framed upper walls up on top of the existing walls. We got them nailed in place and got the sheathing on. All of this was done during a steady drizzle. We were soaked by the time we got it done. But, we got it done! At this point it was starting to look like a temple.

Last weekend, we built the roof deck on top of the central tower. A small and dedicated group of volunteers braved the weather to get this done. On Saturday we framed the upper deck in cold and wind and on Sunday, we put the plywood on the deck while it was even colder and windier. But that's just the way winter is out here. We did what we had planned and stayed in good spirits throughout the process.

The next step, which we will undertake at the March work party, is to frame the gable roofs over each of the four bays that surround the central tower. This work party will be held March 9-10 so come on up and bring your hammers, screw guns, and work gloves.

Coming up on the weekend of April 20-21 is a mosaic and assemblage art workshop which will be held in Prescott. You can learn how to do mosaic while creating a piece that will go on the Temple of Life. There will be no charge for this other than requesting a donation to offset the costs of buying cement board, thin-set and grout. Bring your own mosaic materials - broken dishes, pieces of colored glass, cool stones, and other small but durable items that you will include in your mosaic.

Soon we will begin encrusting the temple with found-object art. If you haven't already started, save can lids, bottle caps, broken dishes, colored glass, even translucent colored plastic, and any other durable junk items that we can incorporate into the art on the temple.

There are great plans developing for the many surfaces and spaces within and without the temple. Join in the fun this spring and summer when we get going on the art part of the process.