Heavenly Beverley : Cool Days, Warm Fires and Starry, Starry Lights @ The East End Gallery

Winter has arrived in Heavenly Beverley. So far, the weather has been neither too bleak nor too cold. I am heartily sick of the short days, however, that will begin to resolve after 21 June when the daylight hours slowly begin to lengthen again. Thanks to our exceedingly efficient reverse cycle airconditioning at home, we rarely have to worry about feeling chilly.

The fire in the East End Gallery is also operating very nicely indeed. As we now have one of us present there six days a week, we have begun the habit of placing a fairly decent sized log in the fireplace before we leave in the late afternoon. Hence, we no longer worry about a frigid Gallery when we open the next morning. We have used some additional heating on very cold days but fortunately, those have been few and far between.

We have also moved our club chairs a tad closer to the fireplace, which is facilitating very cosy fireside chats between us. We have taken to enjoying each other's company in our very special space before heading for home, the dogs, dishes, dinner, the fickle fairweather feline and the pugnacious parrot.

The shift to wetter conditions has meant our garden is needing much less attention. Just as well as the Gallery has been exploding with a myriad of works all needing to find positions to be seen, to be loved and to find their way to new homes.

I have swung between being elated by what we have created and the gnawing fear of being unable to continue due to financial constraints. We are sustained by word-of-mouth and social media. We feel unsupported by the Shire in every possible way. Little assistance or recognition and an insulting business card sized inclusion above Beverley Earthmoving in the tourism booklet. For which we paid $250. I really don't think the Shire has any idea why no artists/artisans/philanthropic enterprises in Beverley are not choosing to "advertise" in the latest edition of their booklet. The Beverley Station Arts, being non-for-profit receives advertising for no cost. Michael and I would give our back teeth to make any sort of profit...And if we are forced to close due to a lack of funds, many of our artists would have nowhere else to go.

Which is why I am appealing to all our supporters and friends. Please spread the word about the East End Gallery. We are the perfect day trip destination from Perth. Our artspace is filled to the brim with the beautiful, the edgy, the unusual and the thought provoking. We have three artisans permanently with us. All three - Bec, Marion and Michael - are available for our guests to view, to chat, to participate and learn a new craft. Our extended Beverley precinct includes Jodie Edom Nolf's Vincent Street emporium next door to us, Mandy Evans' Art Garden and Kylie Alexis' Lucky Find (fashions, accessories, jewellery and giftware). We work closely with Beverley Station Arts and support their events and the Artist-in-Residence program. We are so proud of our achievements, but we need your help to remain viable.

The great news is that we have recently sold Michael's glorious "Unhinged" and installed the sculpture into its new place of residence. We now have monies tucked away for our rates and about a quarter of our building insurance. Michael is also planning to enter the York Art Exhibition in September and hopefully secure some space at the Collie Gallery. We are by no means giving up without a fight!

From now until November is the ideal time to visit Heavenly Beverley. The green carpet is expanding and by August, the canola will be blasting into a sea of bellow yellow. There is our gentle mountain, Quajibin to climb, the white beach at Yenyening Lakes to explore, the start of the wildflower season in September. We are the home to the Beverley Soaring Society. Our main street is alive with history and amazing murals by James Giddy. We have the Freemasons Tavern, the Red Vault, the Beverley Bakery and the One Tree Cafe to provide food and beverages. We have the Visitors' Centre and the East End Gallery providing tourism information for guests to Beverley. We have Avondale Farm, Ferguson's Machinery Collection and the Dead Finish Museum to provide memorable insights into Beverley's rich historical past.

Michael and I are passionate about our town, our home, our Gallery and our lives here. Michael is a truly gifted and innovative sculptor who doesn't fit the mainstream. He has been sculpting for forty-five years and is continuously pushing the boundaries of his skills and artistic visions.

We see Beverley as reaching (and even surpassing) our hopes to be an wondrous and eclectic arts hub. There are so many opportunities for creative people to live here and hone their craft. We believe, with some relatively simple steps, that Beverley will be able to achieve this goal and thrive into the future.

And now, without any further ado, here are some up-to-date snippets of our beloved East End Gallery (with some starry, starry lights)....