In 1997, after his ex-girlfriend’s cancer diagnosis, New Mexico’s Ra Paulette carved her a cave home; she lived there for 15 years among skylights and stone beds

Artist Ra Paulette was known for carving underground spaces in New Mexico’s sandstone. He began work on a cave home for Liz Neymark, who was diagnosed with advanced melanoma and breast cancer, and her husband, Shel, in 1997. The finished project included skylights, built-in seating, carved bed platforms, and electricity and running water, according to ABC News’s 2015 report.Paulette had once been in a relationship with Liz, but she was married to Shel Neymark by the time the project began. Paulette intended to make the cave a residence, unlike many of his other excavations, which were designed as artistic or contemplative spaces. By 2015, the Neymarks had reportedly lived there for 15 years.Two years of digging and carvingPaulette had to remove sandstone and shape the interior as he went, and worked entirely by hand with tools which included a pick, wheelbarrow and brushes. He had to put in constant physical effort, with a 2015 profile in DuJour reporting that he spent more than two years on the Neymarks’ cave and worked about 20 hours a week.Paulette excavated rooms and features directly into the sandstone, and shaped the walls, openings and furnishings as part of the structure. He built skylights which brought daylight underground, while built-in platforms acted as beds and seating. A striking feature of the living room was that a circular section was carved into the floor that produced a drumming sound when someone danced on it, ABC News reported. The practical amenities included electricity and running water, and the bathroom featured a sunken tub. Shel Neymark contributed tilework to the interior, according to ABC News.A home that was built during a serious illnessDuJour reported that doctors had given Liz a 20% chance of living five years, and the article described Paulette’s work as a personal act of devotion. Liz was still alive in 2015, 18 years after the diagnosis, when ABC News published its report, and the cave had by then been occupied by the Neymarks for about 15 years. A 2014 CBS News profile of Paulette described him spending decades digging caves, often alone with his dog, and treating the process as a form of sculptural work.CaveDigger is a short documentary directed by Jeffrey Karoff that documented Paulette’s cave projects. It was released in 2013 and followed Paulette’s work in northern New Mexico and examined disagreements that came up when clients wanted different results or timelines from the artist. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short at the 2014 Oscars, with the American Film Institute’s film synopsis describing how Paulette eventually set aside commissioned work to work on a large project that he expected to take a decade.Part of a larger body of underground workSome of Paulette’s other projects included spaces that were meant to be wilderness shrines, with curved walls, sculpted chambers and openings that brought sunlight into the rock. He used labor-intensive and unconventional methods, and described breaking the digging process into movements and patterns that made the work more manageable.The Neymarks’ cave was designed for daily life, since its sleeping areas, bathroom, seating and utilities were incorporated into the excavated stone, and also made it different from caves that were intended primarily for visitors or meditation. Paulette continued working on other caves after the home was completed, and by the time of the 2015 ABC News report, he had spent years developing a project called Luminous Caves, which is a larger complex that was designed to use sunlight entering through tunnels and openings in the rock. The Neymarks’ home remained one of his few excavations built specifically to function as a private residence.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.