repertoire

For Mike Francis

 

…realising the hopes, dreams, nightmares, visions,

of other artists;

 

transporting us from a silent, empty black box to

Kwazulu, Hastings, the Marches, Belfast, the Balkans,

and endless rooms and streets in Ellesmere Port;

 

transporting us to a roundhouse, a pigeon loft, a ferry,

a seashore, a desert, a hill fort, a lonely farm, a cave;

 

truly gifted – with more than a touch of genius;

 

rigorously creative – solving problems with

always elegant, quality solutions;

 

mastering a repertoire of skills –

carpentry, metal-work, information technology;

 

mastering a range of technologies –

wood, metal, plastic, sound, light;

 

understanding, appreciating, exploiting

the grace and strength of materials;

 

a modest, unassuming, self-deprecating perfectionist.