We recently connected with C.S. McIntire and have shared our conversation below.
C.S., thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?
After earning a BA in advertising from San José State University, I started my first career as a graphic designer. I slowly worked my way up to Art Director for a small design firm in San Francisco. Long days and the ever-demanding corporate clients lead to quick burnout and I quickly realized that I needed to make a change. I decided I needed to leave the corporate world with hopes of landing a position in a non-profit job. After months of searching, I finally found an assistant position at an adult day program for individuals with dementia. This completely unrelated career change was exactly what I needed. This then led to other rewarding positions in development for various non-profit organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Although development was crucial to funding the work of these organizations, I felt like I needed to make yet another change that would allow me to provide direct services to people in need. This meant making a big change. I powered through graduate school and received a master’s degree in speech-language pathology and audiology and have continued to work as a medical speech pathologist since 2004. Although the profession itself is very fulfilling—working in the healthcare industry takes quite a toll. After taking a short break from healthcare to recalibrate, I decided to open a private practice. Thankfully, I had the foresight to also secure a part-time speech pathologist position to maintain a small revenue source.
After two years of intense self-study, becoming a certified Medicare provider, and many hours creating my website, my practice quietly opened in 2022. I hit the ground running and put my advertising/marketing experience to work as I made connections in the community by a lot of cold-calls and providing free seminars. Surprisingly, these seminars were successful and requests for more seminars trickled in. Unfortunately, what didn’t trickle in were new clients.
As I juggled trying to grow a private practice with a part-time job, I sought balance in the form of painting. Although I created art all my life, my art now really took on a life of its own. My art began to build a following on social media and I started showing and selling my work in local galleries and online art platforms. Unlike my private practice, my art practice continued to pick up steam with fairly consistent monthly sales. Although I have always taken my art seriously, I never considered that it could become a source of income. After considerable soul-searching and the consult and support of my husband—I decided to shift my focus from a private speech therapy practice and take a risk on something that has always brought immense joy: creating art. Now, I continue to work part-time as a speech pathologist while I continue to create and grow my art practice.
C.S., before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Creating has always been central to who I am and it continues to be a source of immense joy. The act of creating is so meditative and such great energy release for me. Creating definitely provides a balance to my work in healthcare. Although I did receive some formal drawing and design training during my undergraduate study, I am a self-taught painter. My style is abstract and combines paint with graphite, crayon, oil sticks, and collage elements. My work is all about emotion; I want the viewer to connect with the energy that is created by free-flowing marks and unexpected palette choices.
Despite my love/hate relationship with social media, Instagram was instrumental in getting my work out to a wide audience. I am currently represented by three galleries stateside and two galleries internationally and selected works are also available on two online art platforms. My work has been featured in a number of art publications and I have been a guest artist in print and podcast interviews.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Great question, especially since I have just shared my backstory on making changes and risk-taking. Risk-taking was not something that was fostered in our home when I was growing up; there was a strong expectation to maintain the status quo. It wasn’t spoken out loud, but the lesson was “better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.” Despite that, I did feel support from my parents when I managed to do things that were outside of my comfort zone. Trust me, all of the professional changes I just shared were not something that happened easily, without A LOT of deliberation or constantly keeping my anxious thoughts in check. So, I think the lesson I unlearned, and continue to unlearn, is fear of the unknown.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
As I briefly mentioned, I had taken a much-needed break from healthcare just before the pandemic. Burnout is a real thing, especially in healthcare. I stepped away and also considered leaving the field permanently. But I soon realized that I did still enjoy being a speech pathologist, but it was the industry that I did not enjoy. Opening a private practice seemed like the perfect solution. Remember what I just shared about unlearning the fear of the unknown? The struggle was real, for sure. When I decided to close my practice, it was disappointing and I gave myself time to lick my proverbial wounds. However, it gave way to a stronger feeling of accomplishment. The practice may not have met my hopes and expectations, but it was not a failure. The same holds true for my art; not everything I create is successful, but that does not mean I have failed; I continue to create just the same.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.csmcintire.com
- Instagram: @csmcintire
- Facebook: C.S. McIntire
Image Credits
C.S. McIntire