When William “Skip” Weed first came to Avante at Inverness at the end of last November, he knew this would be his final home.
And so, riddled with cancer, he began waiting to die.
That’s when Avante activity director Georgette Bass stepped in.
She discovered that the 66-year-old loved being out in the sunshine, so one day she took him outside and they started talking.
“I asked him, ‘What’s the one thing that would light your life on fire?’ and he started telling me about the art he had made out of beautiful wood,” Bass said. “That’s all it took. Within a week I saw so much courage in him. He started coming out of his room, being with people.”
That led to Friday, “Skip Weed Appreciation Day.”
Bass set up a display of Weed’s artwork and his family and friends as well as Avante residents and staff gathered together to celebrate Skip Weed and to learn about the artwork he had created in earlier years.
“I did ceramic tile work years ago in Beverly Hills,” he said, “and one day, a man named Rufus Skinner came driving up — I was working at a house. He said, ‘Are you the tile man?’ I said yes, and he said, ‘Can you cut a piece of marble for me?’
“I said sure and we got to talking. He said, ‘If you can cut marble, you can cut wood,’ and one thing led to another,” Weed said.
Skinner taught Weed about woodworking art and became a mentor.
“I had a saw and started practicing — I threw a lot away,” he said.
He made frames and trains and bowls and pictures of nature using different types of wood for different colors — oak and walnut, redwood and poplar.
For some pieces he cut small, intricate shapes and fit them together like puzzle pieces. One, a nature scene with trees and plants and a raccoon, a deer and a squirrel, took him six years to complete, working on it sometimes 15 minutes or an hour at a time.
On Friday, before he spoke about his artwork, Weed said he was nervous.
“He doesn’t like to be the center of attention, but this was a true passion for him for a lot of years,” said son John Weed. “About 13 years ago he had a stroke and wasn’t able to work like he had. So, the fact that he is able to share this today means a lot to him and to his family.”
Skip Weed, one of five siblings, grew up in Inverness, on the lake off Turner Camp Road. He also lived in Yankeetown for a few years.
“That was my favorite place to fish,” Skip Weed said.
Weed’s sister, Patti Bradshaw, who visits him nearly every day, said she has seen a change in him lately.
“Even though his health is diminishing, he has a new outlook,” she said. “Today was a good day.”
credit:chronicleonline.com