I thought it would make sense to introduce myself on Steemit before I start throwing out more considered content, just to create a declaration of my aspirations so I can check back in a few years and see how my plans have evolved. I've always been interested in creating art projects so it's normal for me to be working on a diverse range of simultaneous endeavors.
My name is Dan Petley, born in the United Kingdom in 1979. I only realised my work had any merit at the age of 24, when I suddenly decided I hated my office job in Cardiff and made arrangements to move to a new town where some of my friends lived. This magical place is called Plymouth in the south of England. Here I said yes to any project or activity anyone invited me to. I taught myself to paint, got some crappy jobs and even created a local folk dancing team.
Now, I have never been a very confident person socially and had always been very shy. I did badly at school and found it hard to build meaningful connections with my peers. However, when I moved to Plymouth I decided never to refuse a trip to the pub if someone asked me.
Up until this point I had been making experimental noise albums with my brother and had formed a number of punk bands with people at school. I knew I wasn't a great singer and didn't have a huge amount of confidence, but by this time I was ready to just get together with people, kick some ass, record it and be proud of what we had achieved. With some people I had got to know I formed a group called Tosstool. I was feeling happier and more confident, feeling that I had turned my life around... Having moved out of a situation where I wasn't given any positive feedback, I had made the conscious decision to be positive and make interesting things happen. In this new town I felt fearless and finally started to comprehend the person I was destined to be.
I enrolled on a Fine Art BA. Here, in the art college I was given an opportunity to be tested for dyslexia, which I felt certain had been an issue for me. It turned out I had Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, which was a total revelation for me. Everything started to make sense... my inability to focus in school, my reluctance to see a project through to completion... even my capacity for focusing on other people's social needs had been distracted by a total lack of focus! Now, lots of people with this condition are diagnosed during school, however I feel that I had slipped through the net thanks to being quite a shy, quiet person. I attended every learning support session they offered me and became super studious. I disconnected my TV aerial and bought an old video player, on which I watched the entire catalogue of art documentaries in the art college library. I taught myself art history, and through this I filled my brain with world history, philosophy, geography and psychology. Through self guided learning programme I was building positive links in my brain, which was in turn giving me more confidence socially.
Through the projects I worked on during my studies I realised I was finally developing a committed structure to my life. I achieved first degree honors and felt prepared to take on the world...
Initially I just wanted to get my artwork seen, but after a number of years still working in less than inspiring jobs to afford to continue creating objects and experiences I decided I wanted to share my outlook with other people who were at risk of slipping through the net, the way I had when I was young and in need of guidance. I started working with children in educational establishments as a one on one support assistant for a number of years while simultaneously setting up public art projects that local people could take part in. This included the Brick Project, a community activity turning a neglected area of Southampton into a public archive of thousands of mini-artworks created by local people.
http://brickproject.co.uk/about.html
I also was in a ridiculous improvisational three piece band called The Tit Mice. We truly were experimental in our commitment to being authentic agents of chaos...
Money was tight and as I got deeper into my 30s I started to feel a bit crowded, wondering why I was spending half of my earnings on rent for places which weren't all that interesting to live in.
It was during this time, in 2016 to be exact when I decided to move to Bulgaria. I was taking a break in a house my friends had acquired for very cheap, and while I was fixing up the garden I decided to start taking Bulgarian language lessons and just stay. I started freelancing and expanding my Bulgarian vocabulary and now a few years later I'm organising art projects with local people... including another brick project with the Roma community!
This project helps the community's children to learn social values by giving them an opportunity to create something long-lasting that they can be proud of for years to come. We are running out of paint and the project will continue for a number of months, so please donate to my Patreon if you're feeling generous!
https://www.patreon.com/danpetley
Thanks to Steemit, I am now also a cryptocurrency investor and blogger. The plan here is to share ideas and stories that could help other people to work hard at achieving incredible things and making their dreams come true. Hopefully I'll have some more interesting stories to share about my activities in the world of cryptocurrency in the future. Lovely to meet you all and I can't wait to hear your stories.