Ra Paulette spent more than 25 years of his life in the high desert of New Mexico to carve out these majestic cave homes. The astonishing fact is that Ra Paulette was self-taught in carving!
Paulette first began turning sandstone hills into magnificent man-made caves of art when he was commissioned to make what he named as Windows in the Earth Shrine for a Santa Fe Resort in New Mexico.
It took him two years to finish, and it’s said that it can be used for wedding ceremonies, prayer, meditation, or anything for that matter. After finishing his sandstone masterpiece, he began making more.
No cave is identical, and each has its own beauty.
Speaking of his artistic approach, he shared: “It has a lot to do with the juxtaposition of opposites: the sense of being underground with the light streaming in; the intimacy of being in a cave, yet the columns end up very large, sometimes thirty to forty feet high.”
Image Credit: colbyshootspeople / Instagram
Watch this video featuring Paulette and his work:
Video Credit: CBS Sunday Morning / Youtube