This week I updated the work on this website for the first time in two years.  Two. Years.  In an industry where it’s “publish or perish,” that’s an incredible space of time to just stop publishing your work to a website devoted to your livelihood as an artist.  So what have I been up to?  I’m glad you asked…..:)  In short, this:  Building a temple.

A what?  “Temple” sounds grandiose, antiquated, maybe just plain weird, but then if you know me you probably know most of my life I’ve been obsessed with two things:  Art & Magick.  This has led to a life of travel, study, creation, and general adventuring about looking for meaning and mysticism.  At a certain point recently in my life I began to desire a way to share with like minded souls in this appreciation.

 I became obsessed with the idea of creating something on a

grand scale, something that would endure long past the 

short life of a tattoo or painting.  

  Dreaming big dreams, I dreamt of a space filled with creativity and beauty.  I imagined it bigger than the tattoo shops I’d already created, yet more intimate than the large scale festivals I’d been running for the decade past.  I began to search for something suitable, and then, in 2014, I found it.

Nestled in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, with its tower overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee, the Star and Snake,  as we decided to name it, was the perfect home for the temple.

Upon purchase, my partner artist K Lenore Siner and I threw ourselves into creating the vision. Within months of buying the building our rhythm of life swiftly became drastically altered. Weekends were now dedicated to traveling hours each way, acquiring tools, learning to juggle a new and demanding element in our lives. As the months passed the space gradually transformed through countless hours of labor and dedication.  The place transformed from an old abandoned church and empty house into something far beyond its former life. As it changed, ideas were formed and added new dimensions to its purpose.  People began to show up as we added ways to tie in, volunteering their time and energies in service to the vision of creating a temple.

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Through the process of creating this space, my concepts of community, communication,  cooperation, leadership, and spirituality have grown and evolved immensely.  At the forefront of this period of intense growth has been a commitment to the creation of something we wanted to see exist in the world, a space dedicated to the idea that Art is Magick.  When my partner and I began to add the biannual artist residencies to the space,  this vision truly began to manifest.  Thanks to the tireless efforts of K, these residencies are now internationally known,  bringing together a network of artists working in various mediums and connected by their desire to travel inward and share that vision.

So where to from here?

In 2018 we will complete the construction of a freestanding 600’ glass greenhouse, adding workshop space and the ability to grow food and medicine plants year round.

We now have a dedicated space for ceremonial tattooing, moving us closer towards the vision of intentional body art in a private practice setting.

In June we will host our first pagan wedding at Star and Snake.

In August Knights Templar Oasis will hold our first Thelemic gathering, Ozfest,  complete with initiations, workshops, and a gnostic mass on Sunday.

The wheel of the year will be celebrated once again with festivals on both Beltane and Samhain, and the Star and Snake artist residencies will once again be held in Spring and Summer.

In short, The Temple is fully operational at this point, and I look forward to stepping out of construction mode and into art making mode once again.  In the coming month I’ll be updating this site far more often, as well as posting art in other mediums.

I feel an immense sense of pride and satisfaction in making this happen, as well as incredible gratitude to my partner K as she tirelessly accompanies me every step of the way in the realization and creation of our project.

I look forward to sharing it with all who are interested in joining us in this community of creation and inspirational art.

Art is Magick

N^T^N Alexander