Hello from the shop.
Six weeks ago we walked into an empty warehouse on West Grand Avenue with a stack of plywood and a plan. Here’s where your dollars have landed since then:
– 72 fence panels built and shipped — the threshold that marks the edge of sacred space, out on truckload #1
– The first moon gate is complete — the entryway people will walk through to cross into Temple ground
– 10 inner petals assembled, clad, and sent off on truckloads #2 and #3 this past weekend
– Outer petals are fully framed — cladding starts this Saturday
– 319 individual volunteers have come through the shop since we opened the doors, 150+ of them on a single day during the first build weekend
– Tool School runs every Saturday — newcomers learning the miter saw, the impact driver, the brad nailer
– Closing in on $25,000 raised! Every dollar already in lumber, screws, fasteners, cladding, and diesel for the trucks
This past weekend the truck pulled away with the inner petals strapped down. A month of weekends, rolling out of the bay door in a single afternoon. They’re real now, and they’re moving.
What’s next is the part the build crew has been pointing toward since day one. With the outer petals framed and heading into cladding, the floor will soon open up for the petal arms and the central spire. The pieces that lift the whole shape skyward and give the Temple its silhouette against the desert horizon. We start cutting as soon as we have the space.
If you’ve given already: this is what your gift has become so far. Plywood that turned into a wall of pattern and shadow. A finished moon gate standing in the shop. A row of clad petals. Three trucks of finished pieces, on their way to Nevada. Thank you, sincerely.
If you’ve been thinking about sharing the campaign, the central spire is the part of the build that’s going to be visible from a quarter mile away on the playa. It also needs its share of lumber.
Pass the link to one person who’d care.
More from the shop soon.
— The Temple of the Moon Builders
