Reinvention • I am the passenger… the Presence of Being

What experiences in life helped you grow the most?

• ‘leaving home aka parents’ aged 11 to go to boarding school after a childhood of moving every 2.5years as a military employee dependent. (Which was a lesson also)

• Singing

• having a Brain Haemorrhage aged 18, result of a skateboarding accident weeks after completing school.

• Volunteering with drama therapy in special needs learning environments and secure mental health settings

• marriage > burnout > redundancy > divorce

• producing Lincoln Mystery Plays

• relocation ‘in new Partnership’ after 22years

• working at Kettle’s Yard, best Art Therapy (ever)

• working in Criminology & combining 👆 life experiences to develop Drawing Connections for delivery in prison settings.

• Partnership collapse > Terrorist Attack > lockdown > and beyond…

• Trail Coordinator for Our Place in Space, Cambridge

• Rav Vast Handpan Drum

2nd floor window light shadow, from 1st floor Kettle’s Yard during LYC exhibition (January 2024)

Presence of Being (2006) r.LG

Present mirth seeks present laughter

Present worth for present master

Present in the nick of time

Present moments, present crime

Present strife and present pain

The present weight of present gain

Present here in present name

Present in the present game

Present words at present spoken

Present truths and truths, well, broken

Present now, once present then

Present ‘till the present end

Then Gone.

Gone today and gone tomorrow

Gone in Faith and gone in sorrow

Gone to go and gone to see

Gone to you and gone from me

Gone from home gone from light

Gone from life gone to fight

Gone the day it got pulled down

Gone the day we fooled around

Gone for good

Present mirth seeks present laughter

For when it’s gone, it’s gone hereafter

Yes

Do you believe in fate/destiny?

And yes again.

Mountains & Mole Hills

How do significant life events or the passage of time influence your perspective on life?

Wow.

This is my immediate response. Such a Sunday question…

Massively. This is essentially learning.

Whilst the core of my being, the essence of me -‘my soul’ if you will – resonates in its uniqueness, underpinning who I am, my life and decisions are informed by events and my perspective shaped by them.

The passage of time affects the way I respond to things, certainly. For the way I perceive significant life events, particularly in a wider context with the benefit of hindsight, can change.

Primarily the way I respond to events, is informed by the essence of me, but as life passes through time the effects of events accumulate and can shape that response.

Emotional intelligence is learned, sometimes at an early age because of life events. Provided you are able to separate your emotional response from the events. Though it may trigger memories of pain. That enables us to grow.

When empathy grows, so does understanding.

I think that’s what people mean when they say ‘grow up’, but it’s important to hold on to your essence; your inner child and playfulness. This for me, is where you find joy & wonder. Appreciating the little things.

David Peace ‘Canst Though Bind…’ artwork with Plants, in Window full afternoon Sun, Upper extension, Kettle’s Yard. 16:02, 02.02.2024

CANST THOU BIND THE CLUSTER OF THE PLEIADES OR LOOSE THE BANDS OF ORION DAVID PEACE, 1961, engraved glass panel,

Not in the slightest…

Is your life today what you pictured a year ago?

…I’ve been lost in some pretty dark spaces over the last few years… and there are some even darker spaces out there for a lot of other people… that’s not to lessen the darkness I have experienced, but it does give some perspective.

The last couple of days I reached out to a few people, just to touch base, let them know I’m thinking about them. The response was overwhelming, in that I gained the insight to their lows, but in connecting with them brightened both our days up.

Also, whilst it needs dusting down, I’ve been appreciating my latest work, 2nd of four panels…

x r.LG