Lawrence Pevec Bio December 5, 2019
Lawrence Pevec
I was born near Geneva, Ohio, Ashtabula County, on a small farm. My father worked in Cleveland as a machinist and farmed and built houses. My mother was a home maker. I had one older brother; William who died in 1968 and a younger sister, Andrea who now manages my business. I enjoyed a rural, natural childhood that involved playing hard in nature; camping, hunting, swimming in the creeks, and working on local farms in the summer. I graduated from high school in 1966. That fall I enrolled in The Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio and spent four years there. I thrived in art school where I developed a lifelong appreciation for all aspects of art and culture and wanted to make it a career. These were stimulating and creative years for me. I enjoyed nearly every moment I was there. I developed a career that spanned several design disciplines including graphic design, interpretive and commercial exhibit design, interior design, architecture, and, lastly, motion picture design where I designed sets and props for TV series, movies of the week, and feature films. My lifelong spiritual quest is related to my attraction to art. My family were Roman Catholics until the death of my father when I was five years old. At age seven I began attending a rural Pentecostalist church. At fourteen I left the church behind but continued looking for spiritual truth and beauty which I instinctively knew would be a mystery beyond doctrines and rules. I had lots of experiences that foreshadowed Subud. I was introduced to Subud in Columbus one afternoon in the spring of 1969 by Joseph Curran. There was a large Subud group there and I started the probation period that evening. I was opened on Bapak’s birthday that year. Subud has been essential to my life for fifty years. I attended the Subud World Congress in Indonesia in 1971 and met Illene Lawyer during the Ramadhan that followed at Wisma Subud. After returning to the US we met again in Albuquerque, married, and started a family. Together we raised five children; three girls and two boys. In 1980 we moved to Vancouver, BC, where I was offered a job with Dharma Design and Consultation, a Subud media production company owned and operated by several Vancouver Subud brothers. I currently live in Boulder, Colorado where I own and operate a home services business. Making art has been an intermittent activity in the past few decades but I continue to enjoy visiting museums and galleries whereever I go and have seen hundreds of art collections around the world. Most recently, visiting the contemporary art museum in Jakarta, was a highlight of my recent stay in Indonesia .
very nice auto-bio 🙂
Congratulations, Lawrence, and the SICA USA board.
Pleasure to “meet” you and best of luck in this new position!
Hi Lawrence. Nice to meet you. We share geographical history and studies. I grew up in Cleveland OH (with relatives who owned farms in Ashtabula) and attended the Cleveland Institute of Art. I summered in Vancouver BC. I’m latihaning with Philadelphia, New Jersey, and sometimes New York and Boston ladies…a latihan gypsy. Best wishes, Sharon Kulik Newtown, PA
Hi Lawrence, Congrats on becoming a SICA USA board member. Reading your bio is a chance for me to remember all the fun we had when our families got together for B’day parties, walks, camps and Subud gatherings in & around Vancouver & PNW region.
I do love your lifelong appreciation for all aspects of art & culture and that you were able to bring your career in line with your spiritual desire to seek truth & beauty. What a dream come true!
Cheers, SICA Canada Board member Latifah Brett
Excellent news, Lawrence! Enjoy the opportunity for service & creativity! Love, Lucia
hi Lawrence,
Thanks for sharing some of your interesting story with us!
love, Camille
Beautiful story and well blessed you are.
Must do the same one day..very contrasting except for that need for ‘contact’.
Lawrence,
You forgot to mention that you are making the Subud Memorial videos available, at long last, to Subud members who were interviewed in the late nineties! That is a major undertaking which I, for one, appreciate and honor your efforts! Thanks for taking on this project!
Regards,
Rachman Cantrell
Hello Lawrence, Those were the days and these are too. Wonderful to see you with SICA. I bet you miss Columbus but don’t worry it’s still gray and flat. Wonderful place to raise a family but I wouldn’t want to live here. You wouldn’t recognize the art school or the city for that matter. Latihan is beyond expectations. So glad we have stayed with it all these years. Best to you in all your efforts and hoping we will all benefit and share in your understanding, Joseph