Six Years Later - The Prayer/Yoga Palace

Six years ago, during the unknown summer of covid, I built the Yoga Palace. This piece was the first log structure I’ve built.

The idea: I needed a place to hang out after working all day. I wondered if I could design and build a covered deck out of dead standing hardwood trees we have on the property?

I decided to find out.

It started with a lot of tree harvesting and testing for strength.

Then shaving and smoothing.

And then construction. I set the posts first, built the deck, and used that as a platform to work on the roof.

None of these trees were straight. None of these trees were the same. I had to make the space use the right tree. “Level, plumb and true” went out the window, Id try my best, but I wasn’t beholden to them. It was very freeing!

Keep in mind, I had no idea what I was doing, I was just building it more by instinct and feel than know how.

I wanted it strong. I wanted it safe. I wanted it beautiful.

And it eventually happened!

To me, it’s always been more of an art piece than a structure. But of course, it can be both. No need to deliniate.

I spent some time in it today, and really saw how well it looks. It’s beautiful. And it photograhs very well - Even after six years and six hard winters.

I’m a better builder now than I was then. Can you regress when you practice? All I can say, is not bad for a first effort.

Its energy is best in the morning, and I like having my coffee here. The birds are offering their morning prayers, and the sun is making it’s fast accent.

I suppose I offer my own morning prayers too, softly sipping coffee, watching the world wake up.

June 2020 - Digging In

Now I had a plan. I knew I could get the site prepped this year, but getting the actual container would have to wait until next year. It was uncertain when I would work again. Money was tight, and I aimed to play conservative.

What I could do this year, was make a site ready to land a container. And so I began to dig.

Once I cut out the trees, stumps and shrubs, I dug out a pad twelve ft wide by forty two ft long. I set finished grade for the gravel, and dug in and compacted two footers for the end of the container where all the weight and structual integrity hit the earth. My plan was to rest the container on two treated 8x8 beams lying at grade on the two compacted gravel footers. This meant when the truck backed in to drop my container, it could drive on a flat compacted surface. I made it easy for the driver. Or tried to.

I had three dump trucks of gravel hauled in. I spread it and moved it one shovelful at a time using only a wheelbarrow and an old snow shovel.

You want to get in shape? You want to get strong? Move a couple tons of gravel by hand. My mindset was, I want to do it myself. I didnt have access to a Bobcat, or tractor, but I had a shovel and a wheelbarrow. I also had time, and ambition.

Eventually, I got the gravel spread out to grade, and my footers set. The site for the container was ready. Now, I had time to work on other aspects of my vision.

May 2020 - Covid, The Garden & The Studio

In the spring of 2020, I returned home with two goals: To spend time with my family, and to grow a garden.

If you remember, Covid was rampant. There was a lot of uncertainty, and the world was shutdown. I had a lot of time on my hands, and I decided to grow a garden.

This is the untouched area of my garden in the foreground, and my art studio in the distant background.

I dug my garden in one long brutal day. It’s dimensions are roughly 16 x 20 ft. I dug out the sod, shook out the dirt, loaded it on a 4 wheeler trailer and hauled it off in the woods and dumped it. I was exhausted, but happy.

After I got my garden planted, I started landscaping. This land was a farm 80 years ago, and it had grown in over the years. As I worked to clear the trees, I began to see the potential in this spot. It was flat, and relatively open.

For years, I’ve been thinking about an art studio where I could work on larger pieces. I just didn’t know where it would be. But once I saw this spot, I knew this was it! The energy was right. It had everything going for it. The hair stood up in the back of my neck. A million ideas hit at once.

It was here I wanted to build it. I decided to build it out of a used shipping container. It was to be off grid. It would be a ton of work. But, the seed was planted and I got to work.