Blog – Page 8 – Aspen Moon Art

Le Grand Mystére, by Aspen Moon, September 2017. Acrylic on Canvas, 24″ x 24″ (Private Collection)

What is the greatest mystery of all? For me, it’s the question of why am I??

In other words, what is the purpose of this crazy experience, with its ups and downs, we call life?

I think it’s a question we all wrestle with at some point in our lives. Le Grand Mystére is a meditation on that concept. Made of the cosmos–Earth and Sun and Moon–but then shaped by the hand to become symbolic, numerical, representational, and conscious, it then becomes something other-earthly. In addition, it serves as a relic of arcane knowledge, an invitation to open a door of perception, a sacred acknowledgement, and a repository of wisdom.

In that spirit, I’m going to leave the discovery of this piece and its symbolic nature to your contemplation and discovery, rather than break it all down for you. Inside this artwork, form, color, number, and even insinuated lines and ratios reveal great mysteries about geometry, astronomy, mathematics, religion, and time.

One last note; This painting was painted during a particularly cosmic time in North America–August 2017. I was finishing this artwork at the same time a full solar eclipse passed across the United States. I put the painting under the sky during the entire eclipse, in hopes of it collecting something special. Especially since it uses the concept of the eclipse to convey a moment of discernment, synergistic unveiling, enlightenment, and moving beyond…

Aspen Moon
Jan 2018, Buhl, Idaho

In September 2017 I started regular visits to Buhl, Idaho to begin in-depth learning about permaculture farming including an internship, and to try to paint more. Alas! with the move, I no longer had a studio. But the Universe (aka the great whatever) had a surprise for me in the form of a gracious offer from a friend to put the studio right on the permaculture farm. So I decided it would be a great place to center a creative workspace, and it was time to go ahead and build.

I’ve never done any kind of home construction prior to this project, but I’ve had armchair interest in small portable homes and shipping container construction for a while now. So I decided to build my art studio in a shipping container, which can be moved when needed. The shipping container was delivered in early October (the day before I left for a month of international travel). Construction in earnest began in early November. Since then, I’ve had more time than money and a keen interest to learn some new things, so I’ve done most of the work myself. But there is a growing list of fine people who have lent a hand along the way (see below).

While having the shell made the structural part of the work easy and the outer dimensions fixed, I still had to frame the interior space to make it comfortable and functional. This included insulation and heat, electrical, walls that art can hang on, storage, a sink that captures my dirty water for appropriate disposal, and above all adequate lighting. It has taken about two months to get all that in place. But now the space is usable and I have been able to to get back to painting after over five months of not having a studio. And it’s totally portable and can go anywhere I do.

Here are some photos taken along the way:

What’s left is mostly the finish work–paneling and trim, ceiling, floors (which I will do in the spring), install a wood stove, and countertops, and then window and door trim. Eventually, the power will come from solar panels and the whole thing can be packed up and moved when I move. I’ll continue to work on that over the next couple of months as I have time between art deadlines and working at my permaculture internship.

Lastly, a most sincere and heart-centered thank you to the fine friends who contributed brains, hands, sweat, mentoring, and time to support my art studio build:

Aaron Beard	James Loomis	LaLa West
Kristen Staley	Jeff Reese	Megan Bracken
Olga Nikishin	Angela Barkes	Danny O’Malley
James Reed	Cameron Pepper	Matt Murray
Craig Thompson	Tom Lewis

–Aspen.
January 2018
Buhl, Idaho

Category: Blog

Le Grand Mystére

Building a Studio Space