I just completed a stone art project at the Islandwood Environmental Education School on Bainbridge Island in Washington State. I was asked to cover a concrete Cistern that collects the rain runoff from the roofs of the Learning Center Building on the beautiful forested campus. I taught 8 classes to 4th through 6th Graders in the geology of the Puget Sound region while building a sacred temple mountain reminiscent of Mt. Kailash, the Himalayan Mountain home of the Hindu God Lord Shiva. There are a series of niches that can be climbed to look in the top of the Cistern, or for placing offerings. 3 niches at the front allude to the face of Shiva, with pebble mosaic streams flowing from overflow holes at the top, as the River Ganges flows from Shiva's hair. A gold quartzite stone with a forked vein in the shape of 'Y' forms the center of a flower at the 3rd eye. The day after I made the 'eye' an Annas Hummingbird came down and checked it out. Nectar of the Gods.

All of the stones were delicately collected from beaches in the area with minimum impact and mortared in place. The design evolved day to day as I climbed higher, covering a large concrete pipe. There is a wonderful range of colors and shapes to the stones. A white mosaic symbolizing the glaciers that sculpted the region during the last ice age, when there was over a mile deep layer of ice covering Puget Sound. It snowed and hailed in a mini Ice Age while I built the lofty heights of the mosaic, which seemed inappropriately appropriate.

A large group of Graduate Students in Environmental Education attending a weekend program engaged me in some profound conversations toward the completion of the project, ranging from the forces that shape our world to the creation of sacred space and triggering consciousness through symbolism.

Islandwood is a World Class learning institution geared towards offering a better understanding of the natural world to grade school students and educators from the Seattle region. Tuition is funded in large part by donations from wealthy donors and the facilities and programs demonstrate the potential of what can be accomplished with environmental conciousness and a substancial amount of money. I feel very fortunate to have been able to contribute to the vision.