Yesterday was one of our Red Letter days. After two years of imagining, sorting and picking, constructing and finishing (with many many hours spent on the grinder and the welder), "Look and Understand" was mounted onto the Beverley Old School, in her rightful position.
Conceived as stories of the Wheatbelt, former Shire president Dee Ridgway, approached Michael for a commission of his work to illustrate our lives - past, present and future. As outgoing president, she had been gifted by the Shire for her years of service. She promptly deviated those funds for Michael's long-conceived dream of an art piece devoted to Heavenly Beverley.
She took four months to actually bring to fruition. The outer ring was cold bent and tack welded around a wagon wheel - that is as tough as it sounds. The other inner circles were created using different templates - all cold bent. All the metal components had to be cleaned on his grinding wheel. Some parts proved very tricky to weld into position. Then, from a germ of an idea, Michael's central feature, the wheat ears, came into being, using specific ties that had held down loads on 19th century cargo ships.
This year caused a slow down of Michael's artistic endeavours due to dodgy joints, multiple surgeries and recovery. Determined to position her before Christmas, Michael carefully measured the Old School's wall, so "Look and Understand" would be mounted in the mortar courses, rather than the bricks of the building.
Up at relative sparrow fart, Michael and EXO Gary completed her positioning by eleven o'clock on the wall of the Old School. As Michael was still recovering from his latest hip replacement, Gary, who has known Michael since they were both seventeen, did the majority of the grunt work. Once "Look and Understand" was actually mounted, Gary offered Michael a salient piece of advice - "Mick, could you possibly make lighter pieces until you are fitter and stronger?!"
Come and see "Look and Understand", adjacent to the Shire Offices and the path to our caravan park. I'm sure Beverley visitors will appreciate and admire her as much as we do!
And do send Gary some well deserved sympathy in supporting his nutty friend!
The EXO and his eccentric Captain!
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