The Media Studio's entryway doors have officially been completed and installed. After weeks of careful work the old doors from the building have been completely refurbished and reinstalled side by side. They are made of redwood, with Cook pine panels and brass medallions from India.

With this step the building is finally closed up. Now the only major project keeping the Ganapti Kulam from moving in is the installation of the vinyl flooring, which will happen soon.
This renovation has been a long road, and there is lots more intricate woodwork to be done, but completion is not too far into the future.

The bronze memorial of Iraivan Temple builders is being worked on in Hawaii and Colorado. In Hawaii, Holly Young is finishing the wax of two silpis on a pillar stone. And in Colorado Debbie Bakel is putting the patina on the Silpi at the Forge. As our slideshow proves, the creative process is dynamic, and the sketches we began with evolved. In particular, Holly made the entire forge! It so gives the authentic feel of the heating of the mild steel chisels over the hot coals. Debbie used special metallic mixes to get the color of fire. Here is the artisan's short notes sent with the photos.

The sculpture was patinaed using the same methods as the other sculptures. I used Acrylic paints and pastewax with oxide powders mixed in layers in to mimic the colors of the oven and fire.

This piece like all of Holly's pieces almost did itself. That means all the textures I needed to make a surface believable were already there, in the bronze.

I especially liked this figure. It must take strength and patience to do this job. Holly captures the strength in the figure's arms and shoulders without making it look like anything is forced. It makes me think the man has done this many times before and is one with the endeavor.

He has a peaceful confident face, another indication that the person is a Master. I love the way Holly finds the beauty in faces and especially eyes.

On April 23rd I will be applying the final wax coat to protect the bronze from your elements. It gives the last depth and I will take nice photos at that time for you.

Until then,

Sincerely,
Debbie Bakel

Enjoy the slideshow as our fourth masterpiece nears completion

Jiva writes to us from the carving site in Bangaluru:

We are almost near perfecting the face of Gurudeva. We  have reduced the original hair with the Rudraksha Malas by over 5 inches. We are comparing the face to the face sculpted by a Holly Young and refining it.
I've been spending a lot of time to get the special features in Gurudeva's nose right, along with his cheeks. Please burn some prayers in the homa fire since we are working on these two very important works and need a lot of blessings from the inner worlds.

The photos are a little blury because of the granite dust floating around by others using the machines.

The granite model of Bodhinatha arrived a couple of days ago. As usual, the initial carvers only bring it about half way to perfection. We have started working on it and will ensure that anyone who sees the model will know for sure who He is. Very detailed measurements are taken and transferred the same to the granite model and then we begin the long process of bringing forth the artistic talent, so that at the end of the day, we have Bodhinatha with us. I am personally spending hours with the carvers working on every detail. -Jiva.

Today, the Media Studio's wallpaper is being installed. The artwork, originally created by S. Rajam, has been printed into giant murals by ARC Pacific on Oahu. The artwork is being put up by two skilled installers, Lyle and Mark. Most of the mural art will have wooden wainscoting installed beneath it, with a large redwood piece of trim above. Many other parts of the project are nearing completion as well. The finish stonework is moving along quickly, the vents and screens are being created put in place, the window shades have been installed, the exterior lighting is being completed and the rolls of vinyl flooring have arrived, ready to be installed in the coming week.

The desktops for the new Media Studio are being made of a special mango wood. The tree, a giant one, was gifted to the monastery a few years back, and we recently milled the massive trunk for the new desks for the monks. Today they are receiving their finish, creating stunning contrast and bringing out their beautiful designs.

This ancient tree had such color inside, and after being planed and sanded, the wood looks more like some exotic art form. Check out the closeups in this slideshow. Notice one of them has a natural edge, so you can still see the shape of the tree.

Which one should we send off to MOMA?

Jiva Rajasankara sent us photos today, along with a story about the worksite neighborhood. When we moved into the area in 1990 it was out in a desolate, almost desert-like area. There was a highway half a mile away, but little else.

But Bengaluru is growing, and apartments have been built right on the other side of our temple worksite walls. As happens, the new neighbors are unhappy with the noises from the equipment. To assuage their discomfort, our team is building an 18-foot-tall wall, for which the photos here show the supporting steel structure. Plus, they have planted a hedge of bamboo, not just any bamboo, but Bheema Bamboo, one of the fastest growing in the world. Within two years there will be a wall of bamboo to further muffle the noise. Big job for our team.

Today the Ganapati Kulam installed the 1008 lingam cabinet in the media studio. The cabinet resides on the east wall of the Cedar room, above the counter. It was made in Pakistan and is built entirely of rosewood with a brass inlay at the bottom which reads "Om Namah Sivaya" in Tamil. Within each of those 1008 little boxes will reside a small stone lingam. The backing behind the rosewood is an ornate golden wallpaper, and the rest of the surrounding walls will be covered in the soon-to-arrive mural wallpaper.

Yesterday the vinyl wall murals destined for the Media Studio bath arrived from Chicago. We selected a delightful work of art by our S. Rajam, a coconut grove in which a villager is drawing water (bath, get it?) from a kineru, a village well. If you have never seen one of these in action, the man walks back and forth on a beam made from a coconut tree. As he steps forward, the bucket drops into the water, and as he steps back, the bucket rises to be emptied.

You can see in the slideshow this art transformed into waterproof vinyl which will adorn three of the walls, with a giant mirror on the basin side, so one will feel surrounded by coconut trees, which, by the way are just a few feet away outside the Media Studio!

Now we can plan for the installation, after leaving it for a few days to acclimate to our Hawaiian humidity.

Today is Kanda Alahan's last day at the Aadheenam. He has been a wonderful help to the Ganapati Kulam's construction efforts during his visit. In the short time he's been here, kanda has completed the two wall shrines and helped to create the vent frames for the two ventilation ceiling coffers.

Work has also continued on the desks for the Kulam. In the woodshop, some of the monks have been working on creating the tops, all made from mango which was milled in 2008. For the desk bases, we've purchased raisable ones. These will allow for monks to stand while working at their computers, which is a much healthier approach to their long hours of media work.

Today Kanda Alahan arrived at the Aadheenam. He plans to attend Mahasivaratri and spend the remainder of his week here, working with the Ganapati Kulam on the Media Studio. Kanda lives in Concord and skillfully builds custom cabinets. Laid out before him are the shrines he has built for the Media Studio's entryway. They will be on either wall as one enters the building, and will house the Ganesha and the Gurudeva carvings which have been completed. These shrines were built out of African Mahogany.