BRING PROJECT: "Garden of Earthly Delights" - Chapel Wall

WORK IN PROGRESS

The project is to build a back wall/altar for a Chapel structure that is being built at BRING (Recycling Center in Eugene, OR). The concept of my Chapel Wall is to suggest that recycling is a spiritual value shared by all of the world's religious traditions. The wall is made entirely of re-used materials that I found at BRING. The Chapel will be the centerpiece in a large garden/community gathering area called the "Garden of Earthly Delights". I will continue to post photos as I make progress.

18 mounting anchors for my sculptural wall installed. Huge bolts that I had to drill 9 inches into concrete to set (with special epoxy)

Beginnings of the wall - structural outline and initial motifs

Secondary spires added (wall is 25 feet wide, with tallest spire 16 feet tall)

Progress as of 10-20-09; added Star of David on left panel, Buddhist Wheel of Life on right panel.

close up of center panel

Progress as of 11-7-09; Chapel structure has begun to be built. While it is a visual obstruction to viewing the wall as a whole, part of my challenge is to design the wall in a way that large motifs can be perceived from a distance, but the detail invites closer inspection.

Close view of center panel; Japanese Shinto symbol on left of Cross, Sikh symbol on the right, and large Crescent at the top. Hi-resolution image here

Left panel; Pagan 5 pointed star, Jewish Star of David, Bahai 9 pointed star, Islamic/Muslim Crescent and Star, circles of Oneness.

Right panel; Buddhist Wheel of Life, Hindu Aum symbol, Chinese Yin/Yang, and the most common symbol for Atheists (stylized A in circle), circles of Oneness.

Close-up of center panel and "confessional window" (rusted), which will soon have an inscription beneath it.

Close up of vaguely Islamic motifs on side panels.

Spring 2010: Chapel Wall is 99% finished, and the Chapel building itself has been erected (more photos below)

Full view of the Chapel of Second Chances.

Full view of the Chapel of Second Chances from the side.

Looking up the main spire which sticks up 16 feet into the air.

With the Chapel structure now complete, there have already been several couples
who have renewed their vows here (prior to the official opening of the Garden, July 2010).

HERE ARE OTHER PROJECTS I CREATED FOR THE "GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS":

"Sousaflowers" - made from several sousaphones that had been donated to BRING.

Detail of "Sousaflowers"

These are the Gates which will be the entry to the Garden of Earthly Delights
(not totally finished and the chain link fence in the background will be removed)

Closer view of the Gates to the Garden of Earthly Delights.

Looking through the Gates and into the Garden of Earthly Delights at BRING.
You can see the glass "eyes" that are sprinkled throughout the design.

Close up of the spire atop the arch over the entry to the Garden of Earthly Delights, with glass "eyes" beneath.

The "eyes" are actually recycled from the old-style large screen projection TV sets.
I intentionally put them at varying heights so that even very small people could see through them.

"Through the looking glass" things are not what they seem.

that's it for now (June 22) - stay tuned for more soon !

If you're near Eugene, stop by soon and see the Chapel in the Garden of Earthly Delights at BRING: http://bringrecycling.org/