"she saw it, she liked it, she ate it"

First workshop at St Christophers - Friday 10th June 2011
I didn't really know what to expect if I'm honest. Then again, I was really nervous, and most probably over-analysing everything. If pathetic fallacy was relevant, It was defiantly going to be a curious day. When I arrived at reception, the atmosphere was apprehensive to say the least, everyone was quiet, and fairly anxious i would assume. Saying that though, It did make me feel a little more reassured knowing we were all in the same boat. We took all the equipment down to the art room and started to set everything up, Gerry came in after a while and told us all to be polite and say hello as they entered the room. I tried to smile as much as I could but it felt really transparent - I think even the patients picked up on how nervous we all were. Once we were all sitting in a circle - Finley began to introduce the project, I elaborated a little about the mediums, then she set up a couple of "getting to know you" activities around the circle. First we said our names, then the place we grew up, and then a special place to us.
Once we were all feeling slightly more nostalgic and relaxed - some common ground was set between a few people; mostly from Croydon and Penge. I thought that was nice, and even though its a relatively small connection - it's a connection nonetheless.

We broke into groups. Abraham, June, Steve and I were placed on the round table in the corner where we had set up. I introduced myself to Steve- he was my partner. Steve has a brain tumor, he sits in a wheelchair as his legs are unable to walk, a flannel rested upon his chest. I noticed that a pink pig (with the material like a stress ball) was firmly in his left hand. He told me this was to stop his hand clenching too much when he slept.
I was curious, so asked him about the pig. He said he wife found it in a draw once and he took a liking to it instantly. The nose was missing - he elaborated to tell me that his granddaughter bit it off a while ago. I asked him why he thought she bit it and he simply said "She saw it, She liked it, She ate it. Humans are simple."
That kinda got to me. It made me realise how mortality and lifespan are so irrelevant when you've accepted and adapted to change and death.
Humans like to act like they re complicated and interesting. But at the beginning and at the end of all our lives - we all crave the same thing. To wake. To survive. To thrive.
And in all our complexity's and manipulations, we get lost in our own selfishness. It takes something traumatic to bring us back down to earth and realise why we're all here. It's a shame.

Moving on, we started the exorcises, I asked him to draw whatever was on his mind. After a little hesitation, he drew a cat. He told me about how he has a ginger cat that was called Hugo and how he was the best companion. His drawing was actually pretty good, even though he didn't finish it. I'm not sure how far his attention span extends. I then asked him to draw his object: the pig. He smiled and asked for a pink pen. We had conversations throughout, and i found out a lot about him. He was a geography teacher - and really enjoys travelling and going on long walks, he mentioned the Lake District, an told me how triumphant he felt once he'd reached the top. the look on his face at that moment was a little upsetting, like he was reminiscing the feeling of being able to walk freely. I didn't want to disturb him at that point.
He spoke about the weather and cats and tornadoes and hurricanes, how they all worked and the dynamic of the world. I think he's brilliant. I can't wait to show him the animation of his granddaughter eating the pig's nose.