Early evening on Saturday. We are still in the Gallery as the Platform Theatre has a "Back to the 80s" live show beginning in about an hour and we take any opportunity possible to encourage a guest or two to wander in...
We continue to be very busy in the East End Gallery and Giftshop. As of last weekend, we had one hundred and eight artists who we promote and support. Honestly, if I'd looked into a crystal ball twelve years ago and seen my present life - I would have fallen off my chair laughing and in utter amazement.
Michael has very proudly completed his newest piece - a three-dimensional framed sculpture named "A Miner's Gamble". Using only miners' boot heels, Michael has constructed yet another story of the Western Australian Goldfields. Each heel represents someone who lived, worked and tried to survive in the most alien of environments. The heels suggest the journeys made, often on foot and pushing wheelbarrows to hold their meagre possessions, men smitten with the possibility of making their fortunes through gold.
The goldrushes in the Wild West were not like in the green surroundings of central Victoria or the lush forests of Queensland. Water was the key to staying alive and there was precious little of that to be found east of Southern Cross at Fly Flat (Coolgardie) or at Hannan's (Kalgoorlie). If exposure or thirst or hunger didn't kill those afflicted with gold fever, then typhoid or mine disaster also had a go. Only after the railways were constructed did death not haunt the miners every day, however, the lonely cemeteries testify to a hundred other ways the very young, women and the working men could lose their lives. Only with the completion of the Kalgoorlie pipeline in 1907 was the reliability of a water supply made possible.
"A Miner's Gamble" has joined "Discarded Dreams 2" above the Gallery fireplace. This week, we have also enjoyed a flurry of artists arriving to change or add to the works on display.
John Kaye, who has thoroughly enjoyed his stints as Artist-in-Resident at the Station Gallery arrived to exchange the old for the new. His skill and talent are evident to see and reflect the beauty of Western Australia as well as an exquisite study of the Olgas in the Northern Territory.
Gracie Courtney has not been backward in coming forward. She has had a bloody awful 2020 healthwise but has still refreshed her paintings in the Gallery, much to our delight. Vibrant and powerful, "Southern Ocean, Western Australia" and "Florabiscus" are both stunning additions to the Giftshop.
Our youngest artist, eleven-year-old Mia Schilling has brought in a variety of cards, both Christmassy and general purpose. Mia is already a gifted artist with a supportive dynamo of a Mum. We were delighted to be able to hand over the proceeds of nineteen cards she sold last weekend.
Shane Moad, the man about Beverley, is restocking his contribution to the Gallery tomorrow. Shane is an extraordinary artist, who has his paintings in collections both in Australia and around the world. How lucky are we that he and Val have chosen to live in Heavenly Beverley.
The lifting of COVID 19 restrictions within W.A. whilst Australia still maintains a strong border has actually been wonderful for so many regional towns. Beverley has welcomed visitor numbers never seen before. West Australians are travelling in their own backyards and our beloved East End Gallery is being noticed - an "overnight sensation" after six years.
And we are selling. We used to be excited by a single guest in a day or one sale over a four-day period. But the thrill has not faded. We still experience a huge buzz every time we farewell an art piece to a new home. That sale means income for our artists and exposure for us.
With only twenty-seven days until the jolly red-suited, white-bearded chap makes his appearance, we believe the East End Gallery has that special gift for everybody, for all tastes and all budgets. And if a guest sees that original artwork they really can't live without, please tell me! Then I can slap an orange sticker on that particular item and it may leave immediately for a happy home or be paid it off through our interest-free layby.
We believe that everybody, regardless of their circumstances, deserves a chance to own original art.
So don't just sit there. Come up to Heavenly Beverley and into the East End Gallery!
No comments:
Post a Comment