“Many hands, one light, a better world." The Inner Sun Project Lands on the Emerald Isle of America, Beaver Island

    June 20, 2021  Solstice Celebration
 Nathan Altman and Sarah C. Mueller and crew erected a magnificent art sculpture at Paradise Bay, Beaver Island, Michigan today.  The Inner Sun Project sculpture was unveiled near the recently named “Best Harbor in the U.S. at Paradise Bay, Beaver Island.  Beaver Island Municipal Marina, North is next-door neighbor to the Inner Sun and the Beaver Island Chamber of Commerce.  Chamber director, Paul Cole was on hand with a small gathering of thirty people, just dropping in to see what was happening in the harbor.
Cole said, “Beaver Island has always possessed an “inner sun”  within its pristine environment,  peaceful and quiet shorelines and in the self-reliant and friendly people.  This sculpture adds more.”  Photos below,  Residents and visitors gather to view the sculpture.  Left, the hands.  Right,  Nathan Altman, securing the structure.
Why Beaver Island?

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Altman’s partner in Protopia Inc., is a long-time visitor and summer-resident family.  Sarah C. Mueller grew up spending summers on the island and the business partners are now planning to create and develop Protopia Inc.  Protopia Inc. plans to operate from the old Bonadeo Boat dock and Boutique building behind the Inner Sun art piece. 
The Inner Sun Project motto is this,  “Inspire human connection through art, when the pressure to divide is building around the world.”
According to the inner sun website, Nathan Altman, aka Mary Poppins ”is an experienced builder, artist and maker-of-things. His love of creating with communities led him to lead several large-scale art projects, the first being the 2015 Temple for Burning Man. The challenging nature and the talented people from all over the world it attracts, inspired him to take a full-time role with the organization. In 2016, he managed hundreds of volunteers to build the city infrastructure for the department of public works, and in 2017 he led the design and construction of the Man itself. For his work, he was given the name “Mary Poppins” which alluded to his ability to drop in and bring joy, creativity, and order to whatever he touches-- leaving it better than he found it.” 
The first Inner Sun was a wooden structure,  built to be burnt at the annual Black Rock City Burning Man Festival in Reno, Nevada.  The Inner Sun website also states, “By building an 8 story wooden globe, lit from within by a sacred light, and gently cradled by two massive hands we hope to answer one small question: What’s your InnerSun?
“For every answer we receive from participants worldwide, we’ll create a steel hand engraved with their words and unite thousands of them in a beautiful patchwork upon the final structure. This global art collaboration will bring together more participants than Burning Man alone, while creating a community that far outlasts the event itself.”
We are a group of artists and makers who believe in sustainable change in the world through collective action. We create monumental art in order to pursue the communion of individual expression and common occupation. Our art strives to be inclusive, accessible and socially expansive.”  Nathan said, "That's why we're here, to build more weird stuff."  Those hands and that sculpture are now completed and have come to rest on Beaver Island. At the end of the night,  Altman said,  “It feels good, really good.”   Altman also happens to be running for a position on the Great Lakes Energy Co-op Board. Find out more about that in the Country Lines Magazine, delivered to GLE consumers.
Find out more at:  https://theinnersun.org/   Or, contact Protopia Inc. @ 231-448-6969.