Meher Pilgrim Retreat, the new building at upper Meherabad, is due to open for full-time pilgrim accommodation next season, June 2006. Construction is complete and the building is now undergoing furnishing and decoration. While furniture building, administrative preparations, and the outfitting of kitchen equipment are going on, another aspect of final preparation is the installation of many works of art and decoration by a number of talented Baba lovers. For this purpose, a little colony of painters, decorators, sculptors, and picture framers has been established in the building itself. From August onwards several artists-in-residence have been working on installing their pieces while they live in a few of the rooms at the Retreat. Meals are delivered to them from the Pilgrim Centre.
The atmosphere is one of quiet dedication and long work hours. A tour through the rooms, halls and courtyards shows an amazing variety of pieces being created and installed, and the total effect is truly impressive in magnitude. Notable too is the number of countries represented by the artists. There are contributors from America, India, Spain, England, Serbia, Australia, Lithuania, Iran and perhaps some I've missed! In recent weeks there have been seven artists in residence at the Retreat, another 6 or so at Meherabad working on some of the projects, and at least another 7 artists who have works which will be installed over the next few months.
Jurgis Sapkus, originally from Lithuania, is a well-known Baba sculptor from Los Angeles. When Jurgis arrived early in the pilgrim season, his first task was to travel to Makhrana, Rajasthan, to acquire a large piece of white marble for his life-size sculpture of Baba and Mohammed Mast. His trip to get the marble is a story in itself, a success, and his work in the courtyard at MPR is shaping up beautifully. Mohammed's laughing face and Baba's tender embrace are captivating as they emerge from Jurgis's expert chisel strokes. The luminescent marble, of the same type as India's Taj Mahal, is harder and more prone to splits than the Arizonan marble Jurgis has used previously, so he finds this aspect of the work challenging. Jurgis intends to finish the piece by the end of December.
Anna de Polnay of England is a mural artist who has created a large, eye-and-heart-capturing piece on the wall in the central hall of the building. Showing Baba standing with a hand on His hip and holding His alphabet board, long curling hair blowing in the wind, with Masaji holding an umbrella over His head and other mandali in accompaniment, the work evokes a powerful feeling of walking with Baba in Meherabad of old.
Upstairs on the first floor landing Annie de Jong and Marcella Cozzi, of Spain, are painting another large mural, this one in stunning tones of gold and tan depicting scenes from Baba's New Life travels. A montage which extends around a corner onto a side wall, the piece is full of delicate details and tells in pictures many of the stories known from the New Life.
Marcella looks down from her ladder perch, brush in hand, to comment on the work and the building as a whole. "I love it up here. I feel so part of nature. The sunrises and sunsets are wonderful, the atmosphere is so peaceful. This building is for a new generation!"
There are many, many more exciting installations, some already complete and others to be completed. Stained glass windows, oil paintings, stunning archival photographs, photographic engraving, etched stone benches, a plaster frieze, and a tile wall are the many media represented. The dedication to Beloved Baba from the hearts of these artists is filling the halls with an unfolding glory, like the blossoming of a perfect rose.
Irene Holt
for Tavern Talk
11 December 2005
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