Christine Lee Smith shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Christine Lee, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
A recent moment I felt proud happened over the summer. I was invited to speak at a conference in the UK called, “Sustainable Photography?” It was an amazing opportunity to share my work that unites most of what I do: photography, teaching, and spiritual direction. I met some fantastic people and explored the western coast of England. Fantastic experience and an honor to be invited to share my work at the conference.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Christine Lee Smith, and I’m a lens-based visual artist who also teaches photography and offers spiritual direction for creative people. What makes my work interesting is how all three expressions of my work have at their root the idea of the importance of questions. Answers evolve at the end of process, whereas questions open up creative possibilities. It also shows up in my classrooms, where I teach my students the value of leaving enough time for exploration of their own visual work rather than trying to find the fastest conclusion — as those are often the least interesting. The importance of questions also shows up in my spiritual direction practice. My clients are taking time to spiritually process their life, and often end up discovering the value and comfort of how questions lead them to more interesting and sometimes satisfying paths in their own lives and creativity.
The importance of asking good questions also happens in my own visual artwork, which often kicks off with something I find fascinating and have a question about. For example, my current project is exploring death practices in the western US. It started after driving past several roadside graveyards in western Texas. I got curious about why they’re there, who tends to them, and how the world around them keeps growing while they remain. Those few questions turned that curiosity into a full fledge photo project.
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’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
I finished my Bachelor’s degree a few years before the major 2008 economic crash. Even then people graduating at the same time were finding it difficult to find work after graduation. The continued fall out of that crash led to me losing my job and religious community, where I worked. Taking it all in I learned that the world promised to my generation was not guaranteed and I needed to find ways to pivot to survive, let alone thrive. This eventually led to me starting my own photography business, and eventually going to seminary to be trained as a spiritual director, then ultimately to graduate school to earn my MFA.
In each evolution of my life’s work, it is largely the result of letting go of the assumed best path and following something far more transcendent: the question. Rather than planning out my life from graduation to retirement, I began asking the question of what is the right next step in my life. Taking it one question, and step, at a time has led to the building of an incredibly wild, adventurous, and sometimes hard, life. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Recently I nearly gave up my spiritual direction practice. I had unknowingly placed expectations on how it should look, and when I saw that it looked different than my expectations dictated I got incredibly discouraged. My therapist helped me reframe it as it is the way it looks now. Even with all my years of experience living unexpected paths, I still get tripped up by wanting things in my life to follow more expected and stable routes. Yet, that is not what has led me to the best parts of my life — living with open hands and flexible expectations rooted in deep questions has been my path to a rich life that I love.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
Of course not! The public sees a well curated version of the real me. While I speak honestly, and share from my lived experiences, that is not the whole of me. There’s a deep well under what gets shown publicly. What spills out from that well is what others witness. In seminary I studied about the St. Bernard of Clairvaux. A quote of his comes to mind now:
“The [one] who is wise, therefore, will see his life as more like a reservoir than a canal. The canal simultaneously pours out what it receives; the reservoir retains the water till it is filled, then discharges the overflow without loss to itself … Today there are many in the Church who act like canals, the reservoirs are far too rare … You too must learn to await this fullness before pouring out your gifts, do not try to be more generous than God.”
The world, my artwork, my spiritual direction practice, my teaching all get the overflow of what I have to offer when it’s there. I have to still work to remind myself that producing the overflow is not my job, but staying in tune with my vocation, creativity, and community are my tasks. And the benefit of staying grounded in those things is that often overflow comes as a result.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What will you regret not doing?
I’ve been pondering this question more and more now that I’m in my 40’s. And I suspect it could be if I don’t try for my PhD. It’s something I’ve wanted since I was a child, but wrote off because I thought it was not necessary. But recently, in therapy, I found myself saying that I wanted to pursue it to see if I could do it — like climbing a tall mountain. I crave the challenge. I find that those kinds of realizations are worth paying attention to.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.christineleesmith.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christineleesmithphoto
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christineleesmith/
Image Credits
David Fouts
Josiah Grant
