Libre was founded in 1968 as a community of artists on 360 acres of land in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. At an altitude of 8600 to 9000 feet, this beautiful location is on a south facing slope and borders the national forest on two sides with rock canyons, caves, two streams, a waterfall, forest, and meadows.
During the tumultuous years of the late 60’s and early 70’s the community underwent many transformations expanding from its original purpose and becoming more political and socially experimental. At its largest in the late 1970’s, Libre was comprised of 25 members who built their own houses and contributed time to create the physical infrastructure of the community including roads, water systems, fences, and vegetable gardens. Children were born and grew up with the freedom of the place.
In 2018 we expanded our membership from 13 to 21 by including 2 spouses and the adult children of current members. The land is held in common as are all buildings and major decisions are made by a super majority of the members. As one of four original members, I helped draft the structure of the community and the by laws which continue to govern Libre today with revisions when necessary over the years to accommodate the 50 plus years we have been on this mountain.
The vastness of the land and the abundance of time as well as the skills derived from building houses allowed me to experiment with large scale work and develop a practice of study and reflection. My first studio/home was a 40 foot geodesic dome that I engineered from 6 decimal figures scribbled on a scrap of brown paper by a member of Drop City and built with Dean Fleming in 1968.
In 1978 I built my current home/studio where I continue to work for several months a year along with painter Michael Moore whose own studio was added onto the original structure. Returning to the initial vision of Libre as a place for artists, Michael and I have turned our studios into an artist’s residency during the months of the year we are away.
Further Reading
Coyote, Peter. 1998. Sleeping Where I Fall: A Chronicle. Counterpoint
Miller, Timothy. 1998. The Quest for Utopia in Twentieth Century America. Syracuse
University Press.
Miller, Timothy. 1999. The 60’s Communes-Hippies and Beyond. Syracuse University
Press
Price, Roberta. 2004. Huerfano: A Memoir of Live in the Counter Culture. University Of Massachusetts Press