We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Patricia below.

Patricia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Sold it all! That’s right-on a whim, as I’d call it looking back from this 10 years gone by vantage-selling my home, all possessions, car, packing my youngest son, husband, and I into two 50lb suitcases each and taking off for a two year life down under was complete whimsy! All this being decided and executed over a quick nine month time frame was a bit ludicrous. But stars align, trust ruled, and good work paid off. The three of us lived from these same suitcases, traveling Australia, New Zealand, and Bali teaching encaustic and exploring a world we’d never have known existed had we not taken this risk. Many of the people we met have become life long friends, and the time living in this luminous space of exploration and curiosity afforded me not only amazing exhibition opportunities but also several chances to bring others down under through hosting my annual retreat, EncaustiCamp, abroad. Truly a life changing whim, and one I would not change for the world. Despite certain difficulties and hardship, perseverance won the race and taught me life lessons in courage, resilience, flexibility, and community. :)

Patricia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I began in abstract art from my basement over 25 years ago. An ‘escape’ from the harried life of raising four sons under the age of 7, I tucked my creative expression into the spaces between naps and food. Fast forward to 2003 which found me working my way through the ‘new’ medium of encaustic; I was hooked! 2007 afforded me the opportunity to publish the first book in workshop format on encaustic and from there, the marriage of creating my own art to that of teaching and inspiring others was born. Five books, world travel teaching, industry awards for life accomplishment, I could ask for no greater reward for the life I’ve invested in the arts. Now settled into Lexington, KY after a life on the west coast and abroad, I host retreats, residencies, and artist’s studios on my compound, The EncaustiCastle. My work in abstract encaustic as well as oil is exhibited worldwide with concentration in Lexington, Louisville, Sydney, and Seattle. Most notable was my installation in 2019 titled Murmur. These 3000 4″x4″ encaustic panels were installed in New Editions Gallery in Lexington forming a flowing expression of color, texture, and beauty mimicking the communal connection of Starling murmurations.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 2019 I took a year off in order to refuel and realign. I’d burned myself out moving full force into building and holding space for all of the sharing and inspiring I’d come to love about the artistic community I’d been a part of and built. I had lost the rhythm and timber of my own creative practice and needed a sabbatical year to discover it anew. Little did I know that Covid would turn this year into three! And not just three, but an entirely new direction. With the courage and trust that I was not finished on this entrepreneurial path, and that the creative community still had a footing on which to stand, I persevered while also remained open to how and where I might shift within this creative community framework. Resilience and determination are necessary arrows in an artist’s quiver, most especially if part of that artists ambition is to be present in a community of like minded, and to thrive in the environment of inspiration and dedication. Alas, 2023 found a new way, doors opening, and courageous ‘walking through’. The EncaustiCastle now boasts full studios with seven artists onsite, the castle proper home to a fantastic group of students, and the gardens and grounds thriving in the attention I now afford them. More shifting and exploration are sure to come as time takes things into new evolutions, but these years of discovery and learning, being open as best I could be to what may come rather than what I ‘must’ do as prescribed, have fed nutritious fuel to the fires of my ambition and I look forward to the journey ahead once again. It may be much quieter than the previous 20 years, but this too will be fruitful, joy filled, and inspiring.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest lesson I have had to learn as I’ve walked this nonconventional creative path is that convention doesn’t necessarily know the right way! I was raised in a very conservative, conventional paradigm. My parents and three sibling all trod professional paths into HR management and engineering degrees. I walked with an english major because I loved to read!
My unique leaning toward art, introspection, self discovery, was not so much frowned upon as puzzling to my parents. I tried to fit the proper mold, facing the mental, emotional, and of course physical rejections my soul manifest from this forced way. But of course, this had to break at some point.
Once releasing the constraints due to divorce, it was as if seeing the proverbial light for the first time. There was, is, and always will be a way to thrive, if one follows their gut. Little by little, 20 years down this route, I have found this to be the ultimate truth. Some days it is no easier than before to trust for financial, physical, community well being. But at the heart, when I put emotional and intuitive well being and attention at the forefront, the rest can always be trusted to fall into place.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pbsartist.com
• Instagram: @pbsartist @encausticastle
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pbseggebruch/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pbsartist/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFfAIQOBnEIkAfGbXb8xRGw

Image Credits
melissa t hall photographer www.melissathall.com