welcome to the lodge!
whether you worked tirelessly to get here or just accidentally wandered through the vanishing circles you are welcome here. read on to learn more about where here is. we’ll start with some important notes.
This is the lodge introduction PAGE
1) If you accept the invitation you are now a member of The Lodge, The Ancient and Benevolent Order of the Raccoon (Madison, WI). unlike many other lodges this one does not have an associated number with it which will be explained below. We were previously located in Garver Feed Mill (Garver Canvas Gallery Mid-March to Mid-May 02024) and are now located at Roundhouse Studios as part of the Museum of Raccoons. Hidden in plain sight.
2) Everything you just experienced from clicking through the vanishing circles to landing on this page should be kept secret. Please do not share anything online or talk about what you’ve learned with other people. at your discretion you can nudge other people who you feel could be good lodge members in this direction, but do not spell it out step by step for them. Let them have the same experience you had. The lodge is obligated by tradition to give anyone who’s serious a chance. While it may be secret it is also open to all who wander through the door. People are also welcome to rescind their membership at any time if desired, we just ask that they please not share their knowledge of the group.
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3) If you are here you are obviously also a member of The Idea Factory. The Idea Factory is alive and well and will be for years to come along with The Lodge. You can simply think of The Lodge as a club within a club or a different way of looking at the same thing. The Idea Factory Library is also The Lodge Library, your Idea Factory Members Only card is also your Lodge card. The Museum of Raccoons is another layer of this five tier nesting system. The Thing Is The Thing.
4) SIGNS AND SYMBOLS! There are multiple signs and symbols connected to The Lodge. The first is the filled in black circle. As you have already noticed this symbol is the primary symbol associated with The Idea Factory. While most people in The Idea Factory see this as a dot we see it as a hole or rather a rabbit hole to go down. Look closer at the image directly below is it a whole or a hole? Oftentimes what’s important is looking at the same thing with new eyes. The second and primary symbol for The Lodge is the dashed circle. The most pure version of this circle has 12 dashes and is white in color. Click on the image below to open with a black background if you would like to see the dashed circle more clearly. At times the dashed circle can be black in color or have more than 12 circles if the goal is to grab people’s attention. The third symbol is that of a raccoon. You can see the original painting with our Raccoon symbol at the Museum of Raccoons. The fourth is the Dotted Line Face Emoji. You are welcome to use these images in public, on social media posts, in text messages, etc. as only someone in The Lodge will understand the significance (iykyk).
5) There is a secret greeting for Lodge Members Only. You can see David Lynch demonstrate it here. If you see someone you know is in The Lodge you can lift your hand up and simply wave your fingers like David does here. Lynch often uses this hand gesture while talking about big ideas, but now you know the deeper meaning too. While we cannot confirm that Lynch is part of The Lodge we can confirm that he has a longstanding connection to Madison, Wisconsin and has made multiple trips here over the years. Tandem Press, the printmaking studio that he worked with for many year, is located in the same building as The Museum of Raccoons (The Lodge).
6) The Lodge has an in-person Annual Lodge Meetings, along with other Lodge gatherings. The first annual meeting was at The Garver Canvas Gallery on May 11th, 02024 (See Meeting Notes HERE.) The frequency of Lodge Meetings is TBD but will most likely be pretty infrequent to keep the experience fresh and sustainable. Lodge meeting are a chance to socialize, discuss theories about The True Lodge or to just hang out with other Lodge members. Communication will be via text message and email.
You are also welcome to text Trent at 608-234-3866 at any time. Trent is The Founder of the lodge, but not in the traditional sense like a founder of a company. In 02022 Trent found the basic outlines of The Lodge in his brain and has been working to collaborate with the idea since then. It was probably always there in his brain and it’s probably actually as old as time itself.
Oh and Fridays are BUNKO nights at The Lodge so any Friday gatherings will also includo BUNKO for anyone interested.
7) The Lodge is still a fairly small group so congratulations on being early. Unlike many other groups there is no goal to grow or expand. We will accept new people when or if they find the door. Anyone who discovers The Lodge, up to the first 49 people, will receive a special piece of art sometime in 02025 for discovering The Lodge.
8) The Lodge is very closely tied to Lodge 49, The Ancient and Benevolent Order of The Lynx (Long Beach, CA). The number 49 would have been the obvious number for The Lodge (Madison, Wi), but since it was already associated with Lodge 49 (Long Beach, CA) we simply went with The Lodge for the Madison location. Lodge 49 is an American television show that aired on AMC for 2 seasons (20 episodes) from 02018-02019. While everything online will claim that Lodge 49 is a fictional story we know that it is actually based on true information and executed to exacting detail. We believe that creator Jim Gavin made this show to tell others about the secrets and stories that he had uncovered. Unfortunately Lodge 49 was mysteriously canceled halfway through what was scheduled to be 4 seasons. A main focus of Lodge 49 is a search for The True Lodge and we believe that some “Powers That Be” felt Gavin was sharing to much with a mass audience and getting to close. In connection with Lodge 49, The Lodge will continue this search for The True Lodge, while also being a great place to just hang out.
The show Lodge 49 is available to all members of The Lodge. Message Trent and he can help you find the best option for you.. The primary option is streaming it on the virtually unknown streaming service AMC+ (again The Powers That Be). If you decide to go this route we suggest the no commercials option ($8.99/month), it’s worth the couple extra dollars. There are dedicated Lodge funds to pay for two months of AMC+ for any Lodge member, just message Trent for funds. The Lodge screened the first episodes of Lodge 49 at the 02024 Annual meeting.
9) “All Circles Vanish” is the official motto of The Lodge. This phrase can be used in greeting fellow Lodge members. You are welcome to use this phrase in public, on social media posts, in text messages, etc. as only someone who is in The Lodge will understand the deeper significance (again iykyk). This phrase means whatever you think it means as there are many layers and levels of possibility. The Lynx of Lodge 49 use a similar mysterious phrase Superus Sicut Inferus, translated to As Above, So Below.
10) Recent discoveries have also connected The Lodge to The Shangri-Lodge in the Nashville, TN area. The exact Shangri-Lodge location is still unknown and the whole operation exists under a shadow group called Interdisciplinary Logistics Corp. We do know that The Shangri-Lodge communicates through paper newspapers and members often wear tiny hats. The Lodge historians believe that there are secret doorways that connect The Lodge (Madison, WI) with the Shangri-Lodge (Nashville, TN) and Lodge 49 (Long Beach, CA). A recent vision also suggests a connection to another mysterious dream-world location called The Blue Rose Society.
11) There are more mysteries and connections to come. You are currently on The Lodge Introduction Page. The main Lodge homepage is at this web address: https://www.trentmillerart.com/thisisthelodgehomepageallcirclesvanish you might want to bookmark this for future easy access. In the coming months there will be more information added to the home page with more connections found.
12) There is a group of cassette tapes connected to The Lodge and by extension to The Idea Factory. The Idea Factory simply knows that they exist and can listen to the tapes at the Museum of Raccoons. We have a bit more information about the tapes to share here with you at THIS LINK .
