We recently had the chance to connect with Peggy Sivert and have shared our conversation below.
Peggy, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
At 6:30 a.m., my cat announces the day with determined affection — purring, rubbing, and kneading until I finally rise. By seven, I’ve washed my face, applied sunscreen, and pulled on a T-shirt and jeans.
I love the mornings. My partner, who wakes earlier, has already brewed coffee and taken our dog to the park. The quiet that follows feels expansive. I pour a cup, step outside, and take in the natural world — light shifting, air still cool, everything just beginning.
These early hours are a time of solitude and clarity. I often meditate, read, write, or do yoga, letting the mind settle before the day gathers speed. The cat reappears now and then, grounding me with her simple presence.
When the man and dog return, breakfast becomes a gentle transition —a bridge from stillness to movement.
Then I walk across the property to my studio, and the day begins again — but this time, open, fluid, free.
The quiet energy of morning spills into creation, transforming meditation into motion,
and peace into art.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a visual artist living and working in Portuguese Bend, a remote and shifting landscape where land, sea, and sky exist in constant conversation. My off-grid studio rests atop moving earth, and this rhythm of instability has become a metaphor for my art—an ever-present reminder that change is both inevitable and generative.
My work moves between painting, sculpture, installation, and video, exploring the tension between control and surrender. I build layered surfaces with paint, mixed media, and found objects, allowing form and texture to emerge intuitively. The horse, a recurring presence in my work, embodies the quiet power and grace I find in nature—a symbol of endurance, freedom, and spiritual balance.
After many years dedicated to art education and curation, I now devote myself fully to artmaking. My studio has become both sanctuary and experiment—an evolving environment of works in progress, transformed by time, place, and collaboration. Through my art, I seek to reflect the shifting forces that shape us all: nature, memory, and the passage of time.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
I was raised to be conservative, respectful, honest, thoughtful, traditional, and appropriate. Those values gave me a good life — a steady one, marked by moderation and success.
But to live fully as an artist, I’ve had to let go of many of those inherited rules. Freedom and creativity ask for openness, not restraint. It hasn’t been easy; my parents taught me well, and their lessons are deeply ingrained.
My partner, who sees the world through a very different lens, has helped me loosen those bindings — to question the American norms that so often limit our creative minds. Many traditions exist to maintain order, to control. The artist’s role, however, is to push against that control — to question, disrupt, and spark change.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
The fear that has held me back the most is the fear of social interaction and judgment. I’ve always been more comfortable in close, one-on-one relationships than in groups. Even as a teacher, I often felt anxious entering social or professional settings, despite caring deeply about my students and colleagues.
Over time, I’ve learned to accept that my quieter nature allows me to connect deeply and authentically with others, even if my circle remains small.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
I think many smart people are too focused on making money—using their intelligence primarily to accumulate wealth and power. The pursuit of success becomes a self-perpetuating cycle, where the goal shifts from improving the quality of life to simply producing more wealth. In the end, life itself becomes about making money, and that’s an empty pursuit.
Truly wise people could use their intelligence to address humanity’s deeper issues—to teach, to connect, and to explore universal truths. When intelligence is directed toward spiritual growth and collective understanding rather than material gain, it can lead to genuine fulfillment, enlightenment, and peace.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What light inside you have you been dimming?
The light that is dimming is the one that cares.
The one that once leapt toward joy, that wanted to join in, to laugh, to belong.
The light that used to flare at injustice, that wanted to change the world,
that believed in the power of voices raised together.
Now, I feel myself pulling inward —
more isolated in my needs, quieter in my drive.
The only flame that burns steady is the light of art —
a small, unwavering beacon in the fog of indifference.
I no longer rally for sides, or for power,
or for the endless noise of politics.
I have no faith in the tug-of-war of parties or men.
My care has turned inward,
toward truth, expression, and the quiet pulse of creation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://peggysivert.com
- Instagram: @peggysivert2020 / @portugueseBendProjects
- Facebook: Peggy Jo Sivert
- Youtube: Portuguese Bend Projects
Image Credits
All photos taken by artist – Peggy Sivert or Ben Zask
