I first met Trish by telephone seven years ago. She was working up a teaching schedule and would be “nearby” in Dallas and was wondering if I could get together some of my students for a workshop. From that first telephone conversation I knew two things about Trish: she was much more fearless than I was—leaving family for weeks at a time, driving alone, knowing no one….and that she had no clue about how big Texas actually is. Here in Texas, we fly to Dallas!

We did have a sold out workshop in San Antonio that year and the year following. It wasn’t long before the Patricia Seggebruch that we all knew from her book, became simply Trish to us.

I have been graced to be a part of Encausticamp since the very beginning. It was actually during her first workshop stay with me that Trish shared her dream of creating an all encaustic-all inclusive-ALL persons included experience. Having taught at some of the larger mixed media retreats and at the encaustic conferences, I had an inkling about how unique the camp would be, and yet every year since, I continue to be surprised and delighted at the supported and like-minded community that Encausticamp has become.

Throughout our friendship and professional relationship, Trish has challenged my comfort zone in so many ways.

She dreams big…and dares to do what it takes to make those dreams happen. Every time she shares one of those dreams—from Encausticamp, to Australia, to Kentucky and beyond—my own world widens. She says, “what if” and then gets the torch and sets something on fire.

When she threw out, “what would happen if you torched your paper?” there was probably an audible gasp. And then I did…and that led to a whole new direction in my work.  

But mostly she takes me out of my comfort zone by her depth. In her faithfulness to a daily practice of early Morning Prayer and wrestling with God, she reminds me that the PATH is no path until we take a step and the JOURNEY is always grounded in silence.

I have come to love Trish and to respect her journey. And maybe… in the secret places of my heart, I’ve come to enjoy-once in a while-being nudged out of my comfort zone.