Wheels of Intention

A community art project coming this summer

[  By Dawne Belloise  ]

This summer, Crested Butte will have its own version of the prayer wheels seen in Tibet. The project is called Wheels of Intention and is the inspiration of Caroline McLean and Neil Windsor, sponsored by local businesses, partnered with non-profits and designed by local artists. They’ll be installed at various locations around town with a plaque and QR code that will download information to your phone as to location, purpose, intention and links to the artists, non-profits and sponsors. Initially, there will be eight Wheels of Intention with a planned completed installation by summer solstice (that’s June 21 for the uninitiated) but more are planned in the near future.

The prayer wheels are a public art project that has been collecting community “intentions” which will be placed inside the wheels. The “intentions” will express heart-felt desires that are hoped to uplift, bring joy, love and respect to the greater community. They are meant to spiritually benefit all living things, the community, the watershed, global peace and they represent essential goodness. 

A traditional Tibetan “Tree of Life” spindle from locally sourced wood is placed inside each wheel and is painted and inscribed with a mantra by Lama Gyurme, a Tibetan sacred art artist from Santa Fe, New Mexico. “These mantras cultivate seeds of goodness and good fortune; and through this project, we honor our interconnections with other mountain cultures. Together, we celebrate our mountain majesties. They are the sentinels of our communities and to our way of life,” writes McLean. “When the prayer wheel embedded with the community sourced intentions are spun, the intentions release good tidings into our mountains.”  

Each of the eight wheels will represent a community attribute: Community Collaborations: Together we are Strong; Peaceful Abiding: Welcome, Wander and Wonder; Hills are Alive: Inspired by Nature; Oh Be Joyful: Valley of Infinite (recreation) Delights; Sacred, Wild and Free: Mischief, Magic and Mystery; Thirst for Knowledge: Imagination, Inspiration and Intellect; Life in Paradise: Diversity, Place and Heritage; Our Wondrous Watershed: Water is Life. Each wheel has a sponsor, an artist designing the scroll of intention, and a partnering non-profit.

For example, one of the eight wheels is dedicated to “Community Collaborations: Youthful Visions and local kids are encouraged to participate in its creation. The intent is that, according to McLean, “We are a community not a commodity. We are a diverse, hardworking, fun-loving group who value independent, un-tame mountain lifestyles. The love of nature is our common bond. We are tight-knit and we help each other through hardships and long winters! Together we are strong, prosperous and Abundant.” The artist working on this wheel is Mimi Mather with participation from the Crested Butte community kids who are contributing by creating hearts with their intentions to be put on this special wheel. This wheel is partnered with the non-profit Crested Butte Library and sponsored by the CBAF Enrichment Grant. The wheel will be installed at the CB/Mt. CB Chamber of Commerce at the Four-Way.

There are two more workshops for kids at the CB Library to help them create their hearts for the wheel: Mondays, April 11 and May 16 from 3:45 to 5:15 p.m. The heart art will then be incorporated into the design of the Community Collaborations wheel. For their intention, kids should consider what makes Crested Butte’s community so special, what they love about it and Crested Butte. Kids can decorate one of the hearts provided by the CB Library which they can pick up there as well, or they can make their own heart at home. Hearts should be a maximum size of 4 inches by 4 inches and can be created with paint, watercolor, collage, words, pens, pencils or any medium but must include your name, email and age on the back of the heart art and then dropped off at the CB Library or emailed to mimi@coyoteclan.co.

Local adults (or aging children for those opposed to the term) are also encouraged to send their intention to: info@cbwheelsofintention.org or drop off yours at the CB Library in the CB Wheels of Intention box. You can also submit an intention by attending an Intention setting event on April 14 at 6 p.m. at the CB Library. Visit the website for a video of the project and more information at cbwheelsofintention.org.