Since the fall of 2025, following the ineffectual protest marches across the US, Deirdre Towers has been designing with Mara Aceves, a blueprint for a creative space with the aim of returning people to themselves and closer to each other. Following a belief that the body and mind can largely heal itself with calm, we set out to create a sanctuary, a temple for one, which grew to encompass three elements: a labyrinth, a wave, and sacred space.
Our temple for one began with the shape of two hands cupping each other. Open at the top, the visitor naturally looks up. The floor is built for dance, with the resonance of a drum. A mandala at the center provokes questions and contemplation. In the current version, the hands curve up, free of the rope, with a bench, and a mandala to provoke questions and contemplation.
Our door evolved into a wave as a symbol of change and resilience. Mara, Mexican born, Paris-based interior designer, drew inspiration from Yakisugi, the Japanese method of charring wood with a controlled fire. Given the number of wild fires, we made the wave with the burnt wood, then raw chips, letting the wave ascend into a mobile of thin metal bits that flutter in the wind. 
A labyrinth within a lavender field, or stones in a parking lot, sets up the feeling of a journey into this sanctuary/stage. Each community can decide how to shape the labyrinth, and how to engage the senses through colors, textures, and sounds.
Overhead view of sanctuary/stage, wave enclosure and labyrinth
The wave expresses movement, transformation, and change: charred wood at the base gradually transitioning into natural wood and shimmering metal, like a movement from ashes toward renewal and hope. Its wing-like form could evoke a phoenix rising from the ashes—a symbol of nature’s resilience and our responsibility to restore balance
We wish this project to be a Swiss Army knife of projects, many things to many people in different circumstances, at different times of the day– place to break the pace of working life; a space to be still, tell stories, get a massage. Following the example of Habitat for the Humanity, we offer this artwork as a way for people to come together to construct a creative space right for them. Building on the success of community centers that offer workshops, performance opportunities, and mediation, Tzawenik is a one-stop shop. The community assembles the volunteers to execute it and use it to their hearts’ content.
“We are living in a time of constant stimulation, stress, and information overload. People may not be actively looking for a peace sanctuary,” says Mara, “but they are looking for what it offers: a chance to slow down, breathe deeply, reconnect with themselves, and remember the beauty of being alive. Many people don’t even realize how much they need moments of stillness and reflection until they experience them.”
We are investing in peace and because we believe play is essential for everyone. With a fresh perspective, everyone working and using the sanctuary becomes more grounded, a little more hopeful, and a little more alive. In the process, they learn life-skills, gain a creative outlet for the local performers and artists, and create together an oasis.
Mara, daughter of sculptor/painter Gustavo Aceves, and Deirdre, daughter of an architectural buff/woodsman keep returning to spirals, natural materials, and indigenous architecture. The symbolic language of labyrinths, spirals, circles can be understood by creating them, moving through them. Together they made two other installations at Waterfront Museum and Lilac Preservation Project, and created several other models for transcendence. They met through the late, great sound healer Rakel Terceno
Given our Irish/Mexican heritage we arrived at the name Tzawenik, by crossing the Celtic symbol for inspiration – Awen, with Ik, the Mayan word for wind. 
In the course of securing a place for our first Tzawenik, we discovered Boheme Retreats, started by Keva Niver who is a follower of black glamping trends. We found a way to begin with her.