Meet Christina Spencer | Artist and Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Christina Spencer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christina, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
I think that we are all on a journey to figuring that out. It ebbs and flows in different life seasons and chapters and as soon as you think you may have it figured out, oftentimes circumstances change and you have to pivot again! It’s a bit of trial and error and stumbling at times. You have to have a lot of grace and forgiveness of yourself…and others too. I will say that for me, the combination of my early career experiences and recent life chapters have greatly impacted, formed, and altered the course of my perspective on the illusive “work life balance.” Since graduating with a degree in interior design and pursuing that professionally for many years prior to shifting my focus to incorporate my artwork, I exclusively only worked for small, women-owned businesses. I love the experience and career path that I have working for inspiring and like-minded entrepreneurial spirits. With that has come valuable lessons in how to best balance work with life and family through seeing that play out in front of me for so many formative years earlier on. I learned a lot about what I wanted to adopt or avoid by seeing how others walked that out in a small business setting. That is, of course, easier said than done though as especially in small business or work-from-home settings it can be difficult do shut things down at the end of the day in a day and age when everyone is so “accessible” and when you are the “face” or a main player in your small business or company. In addition to seeing that modeled, my story most recently involves a refining chapter in caregiving and grief with the loss of a loved one and that has probably most impacted and changed my perspective on balance. Earlier in my career and in my 20’s I really let some propensity towards perfectionism and people pleasing take over the drivers seat and that resulted in a struggle with boundaries with work life balance on my part that left me fairly burnt out. I really bought into sort of a hustle culture mindset which is, again, so easy to do in small business/ entrepreneurial fields. Its a fine line to tow. After this chapter of caregiving, I have really adopted a much slower and intentional pace and separation of the two. I try to really be present where my feet are and give my attention to that first instead of bouncing around, overcommitting, or multitasking as much. I batch out a lot of my life and work tasks now and am learning to be really mindful and protective over my calendar and what I commit to. I silence some notifications, set timers on apps, shut the laptop at the end of the day and on weekends, limit what I say yes to, and am trying to feel less pressure to be “on” and available at all times. That all, of course, sounds nice and rosy in theory, but my predisposition to want to run full speed ahead again fights me on it a lot. It has been a big adjustment at times, adopting a slower pace when you are used to going 0-60, but I really feel that through walking through all of those prior life experiences I am getting stronger at my semblance of work life balance in this current chapter in how I want it to look specific to me and what I want to prioritize and it has created more margin for me for other things that also fill my cup which I am really grateful for. It is different for everyone though. My ideal version of balance may not be yours.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have been a creative minded individual since I was a kid. Cheesy sounding I know, but I remember begging my parents for a Bob Ross oil painting set for Christmas one year, I think I was around ten, and that really started me down the path of painting as more of a passion. Everyone got a majestic, over-saturated mountain scape that year in an ornate frame from the local craft store. I wasn’t sure at the time that it was something that I could pursue professionally so in high school and college I took both sewing and interior design courses and later majored in that and have enjoyed a wonderful career in residential interior design as well as freelance interiors based creative writing since but I always continued my painting as a hobby on the side. My pursuit of art in a more public/ professional capacity was a bit of a pandemic pivot as some career and personal crossroads intersected along with the progressing illness of my mom. This was right before/ at the beginning of everything shutting down. Art was something I had always wanted to try my hand at career wise and when the world was stuck inside it seemed like a now or never moment and I created a website and began painting more and more! It’s easy to want to romanticize that swap in career focus as art and design sound very creative and fun (and they are!) on the surface but it was a difficult shift at times that came with many challenges along the way as I was learning to navigate a new personal normal on top of the new normal we were all experiencing at that time. Being said, I really wanted the focus of my artwork to be what I call “God winks.” Quiet, peaceful, reflective and fleeting moments in nature that capture a very grounding peace, beauty, quiet, contemplation, and hope. Most of what I paint are from photos I snap on my phone as I go about my day to day. A sunset in a grocery store parking lot, a landscape view on the drive down to the coast, flowers growing in my neighbor’s yard on a walk. These moments are everywhere and the last few years between the pandemic and walking through a hard chapter with loosing my mom these moments are what sustained me and bolstered my faith. My hope and heart is to share them with others through what I paint. I also try to keep the focus of my work on smaller scale paper and canvas pieces that feel more accessible and adaptable as they can easily be tucked into a bookshelf, layered into a gallery wall, displayed on a console or table top, etc. I also try to vary my color palettes throughout each collection so there is always something for everyone. A more colorful floral and a softer, more neutral one and so on. My years in interior design taught me a lot about the intimacies of the home and how people’s styles differ and that plays a major part in that also. My hope is to always maintain my signature brushstroke and style but to translate each subject in a way that can speak to many. I am most excited to continue working on some watercolor florals that I just started exploring again after a long stint of landscapes and I have a few ideas up my sleeves for new works to come!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The beauty of Charlotte and the greater surrounding areas is there is so much to do. There is something for everyone. It is one of my favorite things about having grown up here and still residing here is the constant influx of new and wonderful options! I tend to travel throughout the greater Charlotte area quite regularly for work and for friends and family scattered throughout so I am often found on one side of town one day and the next the following and I love how differing the experiences can be. Being said, here are some of my favorite things to do in a few favorite areas that I love to spend time in that I would want them to experience. The combination of some of these in a day’s time is perhaps a bit ambitious but technically doable but I’d love to give a shoutout to some of my favorites / options in each area below:

Monday- Let’s start at the top of the map and work our way down. I spend a lot of time in Huntersville and Davidson areas. Coffee at Summit followed by a walk at Jetton Park or around Davidson college campus, a light lunch or drinks lakeside at Hello Sailor, shopping in Birkdale and enjoying whatever music or event they have going on that day, perhaps some shared plates there at Bartaco or Burton’s or back up in Davidson at Kindred if we were still hungry to end the night.

Tuesday-We’d start close to home. My favorite coffee in Plaza Midwood is Milkbread. Perhaps a walk around Freedom Park and the surrounding greenway after. I love to walk around that area and look at all of the beautiful houses and canopy of trees covering it all. An afternoon at the Mint Museum or shopping at Cotswold Marketplace for interior decor or the new shops at Phillips Place. Early dinner at Reid’s Fine Foods on the patio for their burger night.

Wednesday- A day spent vintage shopping in Concord at Gibson Mill. It’s a really large old mill full of differing vendors- I have found many a treasure there. They have a great coffee shop, Kunu coffee, in their food hall next door too and lots of fun lunch options. Let’s grab Ilios Greek food for dinner on the way back closer to home and walk the trails at Reedy Creek Park with my dog, Captain, after!

Thursday- How about we head a little west of town? A hike at Crowder’s Mountain. We could follow that with a wine tasting at Veronet vineyards nearby and look at the peak we just summited or do some more antiquing at Catawba River Antique Mall. Other options in the area- Whitewater Center for some outdoor activities, Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden to stroll and see beautiful flowers, and dinner at Webb Custom kitchen (it’s a retrofitted historic movie theater that plays black and white movies while you eat).

Friday- King’s Drive farmers market when in season. Coffee at Not Just Coffee then making jewelry nearby at Beads, Inc. Lunch at RuRu’s tacos or Napa on Providence and strolling around Hermitage Rd. Shopping in the area at boutique stores like Isabella. Perhaps dinner at Stagioni’s after cocktails at the Duke Mansion if they are having an event that evening.

Saturday- Let’s do Matthews today. Start at the farmer’s market then Brakeman’s coffee after in the quaint downtown strip. There is a nice greenway near downtown to walk too. Hop on the interstate after and do some more vintage/ antique shopping at Sleepy Poet. Maybe Optimist Hall for dinner or Rosie’s Wine Garden in Plaza Midwood on the way back to the other side of town.

Sunday- Are we tired yet? Perhaps an easy day on a rented boat out on Lake Norman. We are packing a picknick with some fun items from the Pickled Peach up in Davidson to take with us.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
In addition to my faith first and foremost, I am who I am and where I am in great part because of all of the women in my life that came before me and beside me and their guidance, care, direction, advice, love, and nurturing. There are probably too many of them to name! Personally, I owe much to my parents whose love and efforts and encouragement to foster my creativity since childhood set me and sustained me on the path I am on. Professionally, my college experience at Winthrop University in the art and interior design departments really refined, challenged, and fostered my creativity and set a solid groundwork for my later pursuits. Additionally, my first job post grad at a women owned and operated small business here in Charlotte, NC was a really special time and chapter and shaped a lot for me later on through the friendship and mentorship I found in my coworkers, managers, and bosses there. The ownership and faces have changed over time but it was a really sweet chapter.

Website: https://www.christinaspencerstudio.com/

Instagram: @christinaspencerstudio https://www.instagram.com/christinaspencerstudio/

Other: Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/christinaspencerstudio/