the smoky mtns

the divine mother

shrine builders: Gene, Taylor, Dave, Justin, Dave, and Lloyd

dave & gene planning the shrine design

getting stone at the stoneyard

filling backpacks with stone to haul up the mtn.

filling backpacks with stone to haul up the mtn.

filling backpacks with stone to haul up the mtn.

hauling stone up the mtn.

hauling stone up the mtn.

building the foundation

building the foundation

the first few altar stones laid on the finished concrete foundation

two rows into altar construction

filling the nearly finished altar with holy icons

filling the altar with holy icons

holy icons inside the altar

holy icons inside the altar

holy icons inside the altar

the altar is capped

making the arch scaffold

making the arch scaffold

installing the arch scaffold

building the arch

building the arch

building the arch

building the arch

building the arch

the arch nears completion

the arch nears completion

the arch nears completion

preparing to remove scaffold

preparing to remove scaffold

the free-standing stone arch

the free-standing stone arch

night-time installation of the holy mother

candlelight vigil & prayers

candlelight vigil & prayers

candlelight vigil & prayers

the holy mother in the light of dawn

the holy mother in the light of dawn

For a week during August, I spent time in Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains, building a stone shrine to house a statue of the Divine Mother. The shrine was constructed at the top of a small mountain, on land looked after by the Milarepa Osel Cho Dzong retreat center, using a statue donated by Joe Wall, and labor/resources contributed by a team that came from all over the world.
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