15 minute read
LIGHT AND SOUL
A tribute to the life of former SLL president Liz Peck who died suddenly in January
n a very poignant piece of timing,
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Ithe award-winning Iron Bridge project was featured on the cover of the previous issue of Light Lines (January/February 2021). It was the last completed scheme that Liz Peck was involved with, a collaboration with current president Bob Bohannon. The sad news of her sudden death in January at the age of 46 came as a great shock to all who knew her. That someone so full of life and passion should so suddenly cease to exist was hard to come to terms with. There is an unfillable hole in the lighting world.
Liz served as SLL president from 20152016, but while that was a culmination of sorts it was just a part of the massive contribution she made to the society. Probably her finest achievement for the SLL was establishing the award-winning Night of Heritage Light while she served as president. The vision of lighting up for one night a whole series of Unesco World Heritage Sites around the country was so ambitious that most people would have been defeated by the proposition. But Liz wasn't just a talker she was a doer. She devised a plan, enlisted other lighting professionals to help and she made it happen. She was named Lux Person of the Year in 2015.
Her success led to further NoHL events, this time involving schools, making the concept educational and spreading the message of lighting to a much wider public.
The following tributes from those who were both friends and colleagues in the lighting sphere speaks volumes for the respect she commanded and the affection in which she was held.
SIMON FISHER, FSLL, CO-OWNER F MARK
I am sat here staring at the front cover of the January/February issue of Light Lines. I feel honoured to write a few words about Liz, but desperately wish that I didn’t have to do it.
Liz and I first met in 1999, when we both worked in Newhaven for Concord Lighting. At that point Liz knew literally nothing about lighting. What I saw in the next 12 months set out the stall for what defined Liz in her career. A willingness to learn, a sponge for information and a commitment to a cause.
Time moved on. We created careers. We stayed in touch.
In 2015, I received a call from Liz, who by then had accepted the responsibility of being the president of the SLL. This call would change my attitude to light, lighting, and life in general. Night of Heritage Light (NoHL) was one of the most audacious projects ever conceived and will remain unparalleled in my view.
To work with Liz on this project was truly inspiring. She had vision. She had ability. She was driven. She was selfless, but not without self-doubt. She was committed. She didn’t suffer fools. She never entertained regret. She inspired designers and manufacturers to come together and create something exquisite… for one night only. In the face of unbelievable odds, NoHL not only happened, it was a huge success. For a brief moment in time in 2015, Liz made the impossible possible and it was such a privilege to be part of it.
Her spirit extended beyond lighting. In 2018 she proudly sponsored and supported my LEJOG charity bike ride. She felt very strongly towards the children’s charities we were raising money for because of her own challenges with illness as a child. And, in my last conversation with her just before Christmas, she enthused about how good she felt helping at the local foodbank, delivering for those in more need than herself.
Liz also loved sport. When the topic was not light, it was usually sport. I’ll sum up my thoughts in a sporting sense by saying that, if there was a Lighting Hall of Fame, Liz’s number will be retired and never used again.
BOB BOHANNON, FSLL, SLL PRESIDENT
Liz was a dear friend and invaluable colleague. She will be very widely missed. I never ceased to be amazed by just how many people knew her and her ability to inspire them. In the dark days following her passing, I was humbled by just how many people reached out with stories
LIZ PECK 1974-2021
Liz Peck joined the lighting industry in 1999, taking a customer service role with Concord Lighting. Working alongside Mike Simpson, she moved from Concord to Philips, becoming a senior lighting designer and, with Mike’s encouragement, joined the SLL in 2003. At the time, Liz was undertaking the Bartlett MSc in Light and Lighting. She was awarded the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers Student of the Year in 2003 and graduated the following year.
Always keen to contribute, Liz joined the society’s Newsletter committee and for a short time sat on CIBSE Council as part of subcommittee looking at membership grades and subscriptions, eventually moving on to SLL Council instead.
In 2007, she set up her own independent lighting consultancy, LPA Lighting. She also provided training for CIBSE and the LIA.
In 2008, Liz was awarded the SLL Lighting Diploma, and prior to being elected to the SLL executive committee, she was the society’s secretary. Liz became SLL president in 2015, coinciding with the Unesco International Year of Light (IYL). Liz was one of the instigators and project leads of the first SLL Night of Heritage Light, which celebrated the IYL, with SLL members lighting nine Unesco World Heritage sites across the UK on 1 October 2015. Alongside Simon Fisher, Dan Lister and Rhiannon West, Liz led this national event, which gained international acclaim. The NoHL 2015 went on to win awards at the Lighting Design Awards, the darc awards and was highly commended at the Lux Awards. Liz was also named Lux Person of the Year 2015. Rounding up the IYL, Liz travelled to Mexico with SLL coordinator Juliet Rennie for the closing ceremony, where she spoke about the NoHL as part of an international panel of lighting designers and advocates.
She was also an active member of the society’s technical and publications committee, contributing to several SLL Lighting Guides. At the time of her death, she was working on an SLL guide on the impact of lighting on flora and fauna.
On moving from Brighton to her beloved city of Leeds, Liz started the Northern Lights initiative, which gave an opportunity for Light Minded people in the north of England to socialise, laugh and discuss the topics of the day. Liz was a great champion of the lighting community and felt strongly about supporting and encouraging those within it. She was very passionate, hard-working and committed to the lighting profession. of how she had motivated them to achieve greater things and the huge number of people who will deeply miss her.
She was immensely proud to have beaten all the longevity odds after major heart surgery as a teenager. All the while, her character shone through, she wouldn’t hesitate to speak truth to power and tell it how it was. Even though she was not in the best of health through much of 2020, she volunteered as a packer and deliverer for a Leeds food bank. It was hard work but she made people’s lives better. Working together on the Iron Bridge at Telford was a journey of challenge and achievement. We shared a deeply held view that our clients, the people of Ironbridge and the bridge itself deserved a great outcome. Even though she was rushed into hospital on the night of the Lux Awards, she was in her words ‘blown away’ to win an award.
Liz’s work on projects such as Dover Castle (highly commended at the 2012 LDAs) and the Iron Bridge showed her to be at the leading edge of our profession, but her passion for the work of the SLL was the driving force in her life (well, maybe Leeds United as well).
The SLL truly was Liz’s first and enduring love. The number of people with stories of how she helped, enabled or guided them either in their careers or in their roles within the society is truly remarkable.
Many, including Geraldine O’Farrell of Historic England, Mark Major, Peter Philipson, Peter Hunt of the LIA, and Kathy Mulholland of Telford and Wrekin Council have called for a lasting tribute. How to fittingly cherish and sustain, not just the memory but the ongoing legacy of action is something that we are pondering as I write these words.
RUTH KELLY WASKETT, PRESIDENT ELECT SLL
Liz is the reason I got involved with the SLL, joining her on the Newsletter Committee in 2004. She was a giver, of her knowledge, of her time, and she was the ultimate people person. She was responsible for introducing so many people to each other, to the world of lighting, and to the SLL – perhaps more than we will ever know. Liz’s hallmark was her authenticity and her drive and enthusiasm for all sorts of things, but chief among these, her passion for lighting.
TONY OWNSWORTH, FSLL, PAST PRESIDENT
The SLL was most fortunate that Liz became its secretary during my year as president, from 2007-2008, for immediately on arrival her enthusiasm, organisational abilities and personal commitment created an environment that enabled all in the executive to function more effectively, leading ultimately to the ever increasing success the society has experienced since then.
I am aware of the great and extensive contribution Liz made to the society and our industry, and I will always remember her for her qualities of kindness and a genuine willingness to help in the time of need. Liz was a very special person, who will be missed by all who knew her.
It was the time that Concord and Marlin were married together and the lighting design office was centred at Feltham in Middlesex. We needed a new designer and I was introduced to Liz from the sales desk at Concord in Newhaven. Both the potential commute plus the lack of any experience in lighting design, would suggest that this was not a good match, but Liz convinced me. She had a good product knowledge and a drive not to let things stand in her way.
As you can imagine she was not backward in coming forward if there was something she needed to know, and quickly grasped the aspects of lighting design that would allow her to progress. As she gained in confidence we started to introduce her to the world of the SLL and the rest really is history. After a couple of years I returned to Philips to lead the design team and Liz followed four months later, a move which allowed her to widen her knowledge with different applications.
It was there that she undertook the UCL masters degree to establish her credentials as an independent lighting designer. She was soon working on many and varied projects but the one we talked about most was the Iron Bridge. I remember one day we were discussing the colour of rust.
I do remember at the end of a company business day a football match being arranged before dinner. Liz was a keen rugby follower but she was just as passionate about football. As I watched from a distance Liz could be seen charging on to the pitch in full kit challenging anyone in the opposition to take possession.
After the initial year of Ready Steady Light where we were running around putting plugs on things, Liz and I worked together for the next 10 years turning the event into what it is today. At its peak we had 19 teams competing, which took some organisation and couldn’t have been done without Liz’s hard work in assembling the kit from all the different manufacturers.
The last time we spoke was just before Christmas. I would always get a birthday text on Christmas Day. She never forgot. STEPHEN LISK, FSLL, FCIBSE, PAST PRESIDENT OF SLL AND CIBSE
While Liz was widely respected for her contribution to the lighting community, she was also passionate about photography, enjoyed getting stuck in to support good causes, recently volunteering at her local foodbank and, of course, her beloved football team, Leeds United.
As a friend, one of the things I most admired about Liz was her conviction to always be herself, to be honest and speak her mind even when it was difficult to do so. Her drive and determination to make things happen, her ability to get people on E
The award-winning Iron Bridge
© LPA Lighting
Durdle Door in Dorset, lit by Michael Grubb Studio for NoHL
© Mike Massaro
board to get things done, and her sense of fun and good humour, were qualities that she will be fondly remembered for.
DAN LISTER, FSLL, REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND COUNCIL MEMBER, CIBSE YORKSHIRE
Having heard a lot about her, I finally met Liz in person in 2014. At this time she was president elect of the SLL and following a long day of committee meetings convention would dictate a number of us would retire to the pub in Balham for a small tipple before dispersing home. Liz would muse on what her presidential year should comprise. I recall one such evening when she decreed, with a cheeky grin (which I grew to know meant trouble) 'we' should do something 'big' to celebrate the Unesco International Year of Light… but what should that be?
There were lots of crazy ideas, lots of downright silly ideas, lots of laughs, but out of this smelting pot came the genesis of what became known as the Night of Heritage Light and before the band of lighters separated for our different trains north we had all willingly accepted the King's (or rather Queen's) Shilling.
While the majority would put such ideas down to 'pub banter' to be forgotten by bedtime, this was not Liz. The two hour(ish) journeys home from London offered time for contemplation and to plot; emails continued to flow as we began to sober. Liz often struggled with insomnia and by morning a fully formed plan of attack had been created as to how to convert pub chatter into reality. Cheeky and tenacious, with an infectious enthusiasm for whatever she put her mind to she had the incredible ability to pull people into her slipstream.
Most people would have been content to finish on the spectacular high of NoHL, but not Liz. She was determined that NoHL should have a 'legacy', so she soon had us back in the pub… plotting how we could take it on tour to the regions and increase the opportunity for more SLL members to get involved as well as reach the next generation of designers.
We decided on her (and my) beloved Yorkshire, attaching ourselves to the Illuminating York festival in 2016 to deliver NoHL#2: lighting two scheduled monuments (Liz leading the design for one) for the evening pre-festival. But our main event was to deliver the Pockets of Light (PoL) Stem initiative. This had a group of volunteers going into four schools, spreading the word about light and lighting design, as well offering each a site and the opportunity for the students to design a lighting installation for the festival, to be delivered by SLL members.
It was in this context that you often saw Liz at her best; with a presentation style that was relaxed, captivating her audience with infectious enthusiasm, whether they be a class of 10-year-olds or a room full of seasoned professionals.
Liz was incredibly proud of her work, none more so than the fantastic Lux Award-winning Iron Bridge. A long-running project that was forged from Liz's passion for lighting and an inner drive to do the right thing and do it right.
We had joked for years that there was a book's worth of stories gathered through the journey to lighting the bridge, but at the very least we knew we would get an entertaining evening's presentation. As recently as Christmas we had been in discussions to finalise a date when she could share the story with us. Liz was a warm, open, generous friend who wore her heart on her sleeve, and had a natural gift for telling a story well. She pined for a time where she could meet her 'Light Minded' friends and regale us all with the tales of the bridge that was finally lit.
Liz, you leave a huge hole in our lighting heart.
JON ESTELL, MSLL, HEAD OF SPECTRAL LIGHTING UK
We need more people like Liz Peck in this world. She was kind, trustworthy, loyal, sincere, a constant in a madly changing world. And she was always giving without a hint of ego. Liz and I worked at Concord in what are often called the ‘glory days’ when the great and sorely missed design director Janet Turner tirelessly championed lighting design, which back in the late 1990s was hardly recognised. Janet’s influence resonated with us both (we spoke about it often) and was manifest in Liz’s passion for lighting and her desire to better educate the world in best practice for lighting design. Liz always talked with pride about her work for the SLL.
But above all she had a warmth that endeared many. Ask anyone in the lighting industry and I doubt they will not have heard of Liz Peck. She made friends easily and talked with enthusiasm and spirit. She likened the lighting industry to a family. And when a family loses a loved one we mourn their passing but celebrate their impact on our lives.
Perhaps my favourite memory of Liz more recently was when she greeted Simon Fisher and I in Shrewsbury with an incredibly generous cheque for a Land's End to John O’Groats charity bike ride that Simon and I were undertaking as the ‘Lightly Lads’. The lighting community had been incredibly supportive and Liz was instrumental in promoting the cause. She was determined to hand over the cheque in person and was absolutely glowing with pride. The beaming smile she had when presented with a sponsor's jersey with ‘LPA Lighting’ on the front was the first photograph I looked at when I heard of her passing.
Light up heaven Liz.
