To live, is to be an artist. 

I live to express myself by doing my best to find the easiest ways of enjoying myself most, all things considered.

     This often ends up by my throwing many balls often, to, with and for, many, many people from many many places throughout the world in Cathedral Square, the centre of Christchurch.

    The Centre of anything is always by far the most important -and what could be more appropriate to express this point of balance between left and right, up and down, back and front, in fact, balanced on one point, than a unicycle?

---You are right, of course, a JUGGLER! What a good idea! It just happens to have been my nature to fit into that round square for many years, which is the hole and which is the peg, you may well ask! My name is Sugra.

    I am a qualified jumpmaster in skydiving. I have led trips which have broken the Australian depth record exploring caves. I have been awarded the silver medal for bravery by The Royal Humane Society of Australasia for my part in a cave rescue. 

   I am now able to ride a unicycle with someone on my shoulders and juggle at the same time, which I often do in Cathedral Square. I am brightly coloured, and I juggle up to 7 multicoloured balls.

    I interact with others using the balls as the medium of exchange which teaches us important, valuable, exciting things about ourselves and each other and the nature of relating to and with each other.

    For example, if I throw you an easy ball to catch and you throw a good throw back, that is like lending money and having it returned - a trust is built up and therefore a greater opportunity to generate even more energy is enjoyed, especially with more people. 

   Then you discover that the more excited you get the more fun you miss out on! Not knowing when the next ball is coming keeps at least a smile on everyone's face, very often it is outright laughter.

    What I often think of myself as doing, is, by being myself , to encourage and inspire other people to express themselves from a deeper level than their normal everyday habits allow.

    Sugra

The process of spontaneity and inspiration is the core of all creative activity.                                 

    For me, this manifests in a myriad of ways, with my bright and colourful skills as a juggler, unicyclist, wordsmith, etc, as the basis for the purveyance of what all art serves – to inspire those who perceive it, to expand beyond the normal limits of their everyday experience.

    The opportunity for the unexpected to open new doors must always be encouraged and supported. It is the foundation of all new growth. Without it we live in a miserable grey monotony, where uniformity is the order and diversity is shunned and persecuted, rather than being exuberated and celebrated.  Tall poppies can often see a wonderful overview. The overview is essential.

    Unexpectedly, I performed at the Dunedin Fringe Festival, in the Suburban Circus, and at the Alexandra Blossom Festival, connecting with untold thousands of children and people. There were colour photos (of “YooHoo”) published in four different papers, including the front page of The Southland Times (each an artwork in its own right! - Imagine the number of people who looked at one of those pictures and smiled!). I often spontaneously juggle for groups of all shapes and sizes in the community, for example, in front of the full theatre at the opening of “The Lord of The Rings”, in fish and chip shops, bank queues (I haven’t discovered Internet banking yet!), etc.

   The Artists’ wage allows me to express myself in these ways. My influence touches and helps people on many levels, the personal as much as the public level. My energy allows what would otherwise be inhibited to grow into the light of day - “Allow” being the operative word.

   We are human beings, not human doings! When we are “being” what we are, the “doing” happens in a way that tends to incorporate the magical element that defines it as “Art”. It is “allowed” to unfold.

   May the unacknowledged leaders of humankind, the poets, the creative people, those with vision, be reinstated to their rightful place and acknowledged as the guiding lights for us all, that they are!

                                                              Sugra 13/10/’02.

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