For our class, we had the assignment of interviewing an artist of faith to learn about their philosophy of art, their faith background, and what they hope to say with their art. I found an artist through the website of Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA), and before I knew it, I was skyping her from across the world to do an interview! The artist is Patricia Seggebruch, and although she resides in the Seattle area, she is currently teaching encaustic camps in Australia and New Zealand. Her medium of choice is, of course, encaustic, and her story of how she came to be an artist in encaustic was quite interesting to learn. Her work struck me, as I love her use of color and the raw emotion that seems to be expressed. I do not know much about the encaustic process, but I find her works beautiful and intriguing.
From her series: “If everyone told their true story…”
The answer to my first question touched upon many of the other questions I was intending to ask (such is the nature of interviews with open-ended questions!). While I will not include all of the details, I do not want to leave too many out as all of it is important for where she is today.
Patricia’s story started out with her being raised in a Catholic family and attending church regularly. However, she never understood the concept of having a relationship with Christ, and in her teen years she fell away from the faith.
She ended up marrying and divorcing a Lutheran man with a similar background, and out of the marriage she had four boys. Around the time of her divorce, though, she realized she was missing something in her life, and in 2007 she was baptized in a non-denominational church. It was there where she finally understood and found a relationship with Christ. It was also in this time of her life where she finally was able to come to the point where she felt she could call herself an artist.
From her series: “If everyone told their true story…”
After experimenting with mixed media and abstraction, Seggebruch discovered wax, which led to her discovering encaustic. This opened up doors to teach encaustic, and since she was one of the first to bring the art form back from its origin 2 millennia ago, she was asked to write a book on encaustic art. This first book, titled Encaustic Workshop, is one of three that Seggebruch has written. She also discovered a love for teaching and now does many encaustic workshops.
Patricia ended up marrying again and is happily married today. Both her and her husband found a relationship with Christ at similar points in their lives, and now God has taken them to Australia and New Zealand to live and teach encaustic camps.
An interesting detail that Patricia shared with me throughout the interview was that many of what have now been her biggest accomplishments and life-changing decisions have come about from a “niggling ideas” in her head. God was no doubt orchestrating opportunities and discoveries to bring everything in her life together to where she is today. It was fascinating to hear about her story and to see with hindsight where God has been present and working in her life, in the midst of the ups and the downs.
From her series: “What is she trying to say…”
Additionally, when asked what she wants others to gain from her work, she gave two answers. One was simply that since her work is mainly abstract, so she wants viewers to be able to have their own takeaway and determine what it represents for them.
The other answer was that she wants to inspire youth, including her children, to pursue their passions fearlessly. She wants to “shorten the learning curve” for them by sharing what she has already learned through trial and error.
Patricia shared that she at first, she was skeptical as to how God could work or be present in her encaustic. However, she has found that He has completely been present in her wax, and her studio has become a place where she can worship in creating with it. I think this can be true for any artist, as they discover the medium that inspires them. I hope someday I can have my own ceramics studio that can become a place of worship for me as well.
One last detail I wanted to reflect upon was that when presented with the opportunity to go to Australia for two years, Patricia distinctly heard from God that she had a choice if she wanted to go or not, and either decision would be good. I loved this. Sometimes it is hard not to get caught up in trying to figure out exactly what “God’s will” is, and we end up doing nothing. But I think that God will use the choices we make and orchestrate them into something good, as long as we are honestly pursuing what is good and true, artistically or otherwise.
I truly enjoyed getting to “meet” Patricia Seggebruch and to hear a bit about her story, her art, and her faith. Even though she does not work in the same medium as I do, I learned many valuable lessons that will enrich my own artistic journey. If you are interested in viewing more of her work, her website is: http://www.pbsartist.com.
Additional Source:
Art and Christ 
Encaustic art is so cool, and her work is absolutely fabulous! I would love to learn how to do this. It was great hearing all about this woman, I love that she was so open about her story, because it seems like her life has been quite the ride.