Born March 10, 1926 in Midland, Michigan, Wesley Merritt was one of Northern Michigan's most sought-after folk sculptors before his death in 2004. Having worked previously as boiler-tender, janitor, and all around handy-man, Merritt was self-employed as artist-in-residence and proprietor of "Wesley's Wood Carvings and Wonder Shop" in Mount Pleasant. He called it that because "people wander in and they "wonder" what I got in all this junk."
A self-taught wood carver who attributed his abilities to a "god-given talent," Wesley produced several hundred folk sculptures between 1960 and 2004. Many of his pieces now reside in museums and important private collections across the country. His work has a certain naïve charm about it that is as hard to resist as his philosophy: "I'm happy with a piece of log...and money enough to get chisels and carve...I do it mostly ‘cuz I love it. I don't want to sell it much. I do sell it, but I do it more or less ‘cuz I love it. If you don't love it, don't do it. I don't think we will ever get rich, but in our hearts we are rich in peace of mind. I'm most generally happy through Christ. Without Jesus we wouldn't know how to carve. If it's the will of God, we're gonna have a lot of strange things around here." Wesley Merritt.
The works of this show are from the private collections of Sandra Hulst, Dewey Blocksma and Sally Viskochil.
Hours: Mon-Sat 10 am - 5 pm, Sun 1 - 5 pm, Thurs - Open until 8 pm. Admission: Adults $6, Children $4 The museum is closed on major holidays.
