Six Degrees of Separation - What a Load of Bollocks.

There was once a movie called "Six Degrees of Separation" that was a commentary on the connections between people who had never met. I don't believe in six degrees of separation. That is not the case here in Western Australia. Our big state, about a third the size of the continent, is home to about two and half million people. The vast majority live in Perth or large regional centres. The rest of us are scattered throughout Western Australia.

Beverley has about a thousand people in town and less than two thousand in the shire. And, even though most people would think of Beverley as being really small, the reality is that, after four years here, we still haven't met everyone who lives here. So maybe that should convince me that we are all like lone islands bobbing around, not connecting with each other or finding those links, those common denominators that bind us.

This is definitely not the case. In the last few days, I have learned that there are very few degrees of separation, certainly far less than six. Yesterday, a middle-aged, everyday looking couple walked into the Gallery. The bloke was tall and well built and the lady was smaller and petite with a bob. They were on a day trip from Perth. As they walked in, the lady stopped to look at Michael's sculpture, Mindscape. She asked me "Is that Mick Sofoulis from Mahogany Creek?" I nearly fell over. Michael hadn't had his steel fabrication business in Mahogany Creek after his early thirties. That is a long time ago.

I replied in the affirmative. She introduced herself as Anita, the sister of an old girlfriend of Michael's. Anita was with her husband, another Michael. They admired the Gallery, we went on the Grand Tour and I made them a cuppa each. We chatted and swapped stories. Then Michael arrived. There were hugs and reminiscences and catching up three decades of life.

Michael's family home was remembered as the Party House. The Hills community had been close-knit in the past. Everyone had known everyone. I think Michael had changed more than Anita! When she's known him, he'd had dark brown hair to his waist. Rode motor bikes, drove old cars and gone to a lot of parties. We swapped phone numbers and promised to catch up. Which we will. And probably not in the Big Smoke. We have discovered since moving to Heavenly Beverley that we tend to get carloads of fugitives escaping the metro area for a country weekend.

Then today, we had a visit from a couple who are artists in the Chittering Valley. We had met via a mutual friend. Gina and Andrew are kindred spirits. We recognised the same passion, the same energy, the same doggedness that we have. They had just finished a mud brick studio that they've built themselves. Whilst working full time in other jobs. And caring for Andrew's mum. They took time out to come to see us in the Gallery. We were stoked to meet them,

The Gallery is responding to our nurturing. People are seeking us out, coming to hear our story. And recognise that the building is as much a work of art as any of the pieces we have inside. This gives us the impetus to carry on. The last quarter of the East End Gallery will be completed this year.

And we have a new artist who has joined us. His paintings are riots of colour and life and joy. We are not seeking artists out now; they are finding us. Wow. Who lucky we are!

See you in the East End Gallery tomorrow...

The Dead Finish Museum

Main Street Beverley

Beverley's art deco town hall