Latest / GlowInto / The Story of Christine Lampe
Transcript
- Jennifer Joyner: Welcome to the Glow in Two Podcasts. Real women, real stories, and real wisdom for what's next. Today's story is about reinvention at 60 and what can happen when the practical and creative sides of who we are finally get to work together. Christine Lampy spent decades building a successful career as an office manager for an oral surgeon. Her work relied on structure, organization, leadership, problem solving, and the ability to keep a complex office. running smoothly. Then COVID created an unexpected pause. Christine began painting. What started as a creative outlet grew into large-scale abstract art exhibitions, a business, and a new chapter she never could have fully planned. What makes Christine's story especially interesting is how those two sides of her life connect. The years she spent using the most structured analytical side of herself Became incredibly valuable once she began building a life around her creative side. The business skills, discipline, organization, and confidence she developed throughout her career gave her a foundation for turning art into something much bigger. Her story is not about leaving one version of herself behind, it is about bringing all of those pieces together. This is Christine Lampy, where structure ends and art begins. Some women find their creative voice early, others find it later. After careers are built, children are raised, and responsibility has shaped both identity and instinct. Christine's story begins not with art school acclaim or a lifelong studio practice, but with something far more familiar to many women in midlife a full time, highly structured career, grown children, and a creative self that have been waiting quietly for permission. At this stage of her life, Christine balances two seemingly opposite worlds. By day, she is the practice administrator for an oral surgeon's office, a role that demands precision, organization, deadlines, and leadership. By night, and on her own terms, she is an abstract artist working large-scale, intuitive pieces that feel physical, emotional, and unapologetically free. That contrast, structure versus release, is where her art lives. In my job, everything has to be organized and exact. When I paint, I can let all of that go, she says. Christine's first major turning point came young. At eighteen, she left her small Arkansas hometown, drawn away by limited opportunity and a desire for something bigger. She moved on her own and travel pulled her next. She trained as a flight attendant, chasing freedom and experience. While in Dallas, Texas, she met a man from Clinton County, Illinois. And they were married. I wasn't afraid to just do things on my own, she says. That openness to change led her through multiple careers, dentistry, legal work, office management, and eventually back to the Midwest with her husband and they raised two children, and she built a stable professional life. Art was always present, but quietly refinished furniture, creative projects, and pieces made for family. Then came COVID. An unexpected pause that arrived well into her midlife years. In twenty twenty, the oral surgeon Christine Workforce shut down his practice due to COVID. For six months, her professional world paused completely until he unexpectedly told her he would not be reopening and was retiring instead. After that pause, Christine did what she has always done, she adapted. She eventually returned to dentistry, stepping back into leadership and And today works as a practice administrator at a multi physician, multi location medical practice still firmly rooted in her professional career, even as her creative life expanded alongside of it. Instead of waiting, she painted. And what began as experimentation quickly expanded, art for her children, for friends, then for newly renovated office spaces, the work grew larger, bolder, and more confident. I wasn't really a painter the way I am now until COVID, she says. She took online courses, not just in painting, but in the business of art. She joined local artist groups, and in 2022, she showed her work publicly for the first time. From there, momentum built fast. Christine's process is deeply intuitive. She doesn't sketch outcomes or plan compositions. The art leads. I never have a plan on what I'm painting. The art tells you what it wants to be, she says. She works with a little bit of everything, acrylics, oil sticks, oil paint, cold wax, and mixed media, often on raw canvas rolls stretched to custom sizes. Many pieces begin on the floor, move to walls, and evolve through layers. When she first began working with oil, she was drawn to how creamy and textural it felt. Even though she admits she didn't realize at the time how demanding the medium would be. That challenge, rather than discouraging her, became part of the appeal. Her work is abstract, not just random. Viewers often see figures, motion, escape, tension, and release, sometimes in wildly different ways. I love hearing how other people see it. Everyone brings their own story, she says. Large scale matters to her movement matters for. Physicality matters. I like to move when I paint. I like the mess. I don't worry about paint on me or on the walls, she says. This episode of Glow In Two is brought to you by Blankards Vintage Market in downtown Belleville, Illinois. Since opening in 2020, Blankards has become a destination for vintage finds, unique treasures, and local small businesses. Shop K a signature for carefully curated pre-loved clothing. Discover vintage upcycled and handmade pieces from rags and relics, and even pick up a healthier treat for your pup from Combat Chow. There's always something different to discover. Visit Blankard's Vintage Market at 26 East Main Street in downtown Belleville and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for new finds, featured vendors, and upcoming events. Blankards Vintage Market, shop local, discover something different. In the beginning, Christine bought old artwork at thrift stores, dismantled frames, and painted over what existed, reclaiming materials and making them her own. As her confidence grew, so did her reach. She opened a shared warehouse space with other artists, curated pop-up shows, and painted live on Saturdays. She became the first featured artist at Green Root Gallery in Belville, Illinois, filling the space with art before the business even opened. I told them to leave the lights on at night and let people see something happening. Her work now lives in galleries, hotels, offices, and private homes, including large scale commissions and collector purchases. One large scale piece currently lives at the Chase Park Plaza in St. Louis, a setting that mirrors the scale and presents her work naturally as it commands. She approaches art like a business, not cold or commercial, but intentional and And alongside her large-scale originals, she has begun translating portions of her work into smaller prints, offering collectors a more accessible entry point into her world while still preserving the integrity of the original pieces. Some of Christine's most powerful work came from frustration. One series of florals created during high pressure work deadlines hid handwritten messages beneath the paint. Including one that read, Go F yourself. I'd write what I was feeling, then paint over it, it's still there, she says. Those pieces sold immediately. She continues to embed emotion, humor, resistance, and story beneath the surface, sometimes visible, sometimes not. At this stage in her life, Christine notices a clear shift in how she makes decisions, both creatively and personally. Where earlier chapters were shaped by responsibility, caregiving, and keeping everything running smoothly, her choices now begin with something simpler. What feels right? She trusts her instincts more, she listens sooner, and she has learned that honoring her own needs doesn't mean giving less to others. It means showing up as a better, steadier version of herself. In her art that looks like allowing the work to get uncomfortable. Before it becomes resolved. Mistakes aren't avoided, they're followed. You have to let go of good to get better, she explains, describing how the most meaningful pieces often move through an awkward, uncertain phase before they arrive where they're meant to be. That same mindset has carried her into her professional life. As a practice administrator, she has learned to delegate more, to release control over every small detail, and to trust the people around her. Midlife for Christine has been less about proving competence and more about empowering others and herself. When asked what she's learned about herself in the last few years, Christine doesn't hesitate. She's learned that everyone is doing the best they can to With the resources they have. That curiosity matters more than judgment. That investing in yourself through coaching, learning, or simply stepping outside your comfort zone pays dividends far beyond the initial effort. She talks openly about growth as a series of small, consistent choices drinking more water, getting more sleep, doing one uncomfortable thing a week, spending 15 minutes a day moving toward a new goal. Baby steps all add up, she says, and in midlife, she's living proof. Christine is standing at another threshold. She's considering opening her own gallery space. She is also deeply interested in teaching, creating a space where people can come and simply to experiment and play. She's hosting artist talks and classes, including weekly sessions where participants work on large canvases over multiple visits. Allowing pieces to evolve rather than be rushed. She's experimenting with sculptural installations, prints, wearable art, and collaborative work. During her time in the shared warehouse space, she began experimenting with fashion after repeated requests from visitors, eventually offering select wearable pieces for sale. She also has explored paper mache, creating her own dough and sculpting custom busforms. Another extension of her curiosity and hands-on approach. And she's not rushing. You can't always speed up your timeline. This was the time for this, she says. What stayed with me most about Christine wasn't just her work, it was how she lives inside it. She is proof that creativity doesn't require chaos, and structure doesn't kill the imagination. In fact, for her, structure made space for freedom. I was deeply struck by the push and pull between her highly organized professional life and her intuitive artistic one, and how intentionally she uses both. She approaches art like a business without losing soul. She approaches business with creativity, without losing clarity. Watching someone in midlife actively expand, experiment, sell, collaborate, and envision what's next, not from pressure. But from curiosity was incredibly inspiring. Does your business need some visibility? At GlowIn2, I believe some of the best businesses grow when people get to know the story and the woman behind them. GlowIn2 is opening space for contributing writers, business partners, and advertising placements designed to put your expertise, your services, and your story in front of women over 40. Whether you want to share what you know as a contributing expert, introduce more women to your business. Or create an advertising partnership that goes beyond a traditional ad, there's a place for you at GlowinTwo. Your business has a story. Let's help more women discover it. Visit glowinto.com to learn more about contributing and advertising opportunities, and let's start telling your story. Artists wear every hat, creator, marketer, writer, promoter. Christine doesn't romanticize the artist's life, she builds it. And I left that interview knowing this wasn't just a story about art. It was a story about timing, permission, and a midlife expansion chapter where experience finally meets freedom. And what I love about Christine's story is that reinvention at 60 did not require her to become a A completely different person. The discipline, the business sense, leadership, and determination that shaped her career with her into her art. She had spent years strengthening one side of herself, only to discover that those same skills could support the creative side that was ready to emerge. That is one of the most interesting things about beginning something new later in life. You're not starting from zero. You bring your experience, your instincts, your resilience, your practical knowledge, and every lesson you have gathered along the way. Christine's story shows us that reinvention can be expansion. You can be structured and creative, established and still beginning, 60 and still discovering an entirely new direction. There is no age when the interesting part of your story has to be over. Christine is still creating, experimenting, and seeing where this chapter can take her. That is what glow into is about. Continuing to discover what else is possible. Thank you for listening to the Glow In Two podcast, where real women are talking about growing, creating, and becoming. And until next time, keep glowing into who you were always meant to be. Does your business need some visibility? At GlowIn2, I believe some of the best businesses grow when people get to know the story and the woman behind them. GlowIn2 is opening space for contributing writers, business partners, and advertising placements designed to put your expertise, your services, and your story in front of women over 40. Whether you want to share what you know as a contributing expert, introduce more women to your business. Or create an advertising partnership that goes beyond a traditional ad, there's a place for you at GlowinTwo. Your business has a story. Let's help more women discover it. Visit glowinto.com to learn more about contributing and advertising opportunities, and let's start telling your story.