We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cory Christiansen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Cory, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I am not a risk taker. I have spent most of my life following the rules, taking the clear path, and boxing myself in with predictability. From the outsider’s perspective, I was living a dream life. I excelled in med school, matched at a prestigious residency for Orthopedic Surgery, and went on to have a successful career as an orthopedic surgeon. What little free time I had was spent exploring the things that I had dabbled with growing up – drawing, painting, ceramics, photography, woodworking. I amassed a diverse collection of tools and materials, but time constraints severely hampered any creative output. Fast forward several years and three people entered my life at various times and gave me a glimpse of a different life. First was Benjamin Chait, a gallery owner, who opened his gallery to the public via his Small Works Show every year. This was the one creative outlet that I pushed myself to complete and invariably he would display my work. Each year I sold a piece or two and the seed of being an artist was sown. Benjamin believed in my work and encouraged me to pursue my photography as well. He even included me in a retrospective of his favorite artists prior to the closing of his gallery. Without the gallery, I was lost for a time, but another friend and artist, Jeff McNutt, suggested I rent part of his studio. This gave me a place to explore, make a mess, and escape from reality. He introduced me to another gallery owner, Nick Hotek, at Hudson River Gallery, that resulted in a booking for a solo show 2 years in the future and that was the carrot I needed. Around that same time, I was introduced to a professional printmaker, Jon Fasanelli-Cawelti. Jon had studied under master printmakers at the University of Iowa and was an expert himself in intaglio printmaking. He was also a brilliant historian who loved to educate a novice like me on the interwoven nature of art and history. Jon needed someone to photograph his artwork, and I volunteered. In return, he gave me lessons in intaglio printmaking and life in general. Jon lived a simple life but loved his work and his family. His love and passion radiated from him and changed everyone he interacted with. What was even more profound was that Jon maintained his positive outlook on life, despite his diagnosis of ALS and his progressive loss of strength and function. My time with Jon was limited, he passed away in 2021, but he changed my life. He forced me to take stock of my life – the time constraints, unhappiness, anger, stress, and limitations on my family life caused by my work – and to consider those passions that lifted and energized me. Then COVID came, my second child was born, Jon passed away, my father-in-law passed away, and work was even more demanding. The fleeting nature of life was never clearer to me and so, in 2023, I stepped away from my career and returned to school, initially for a studio arts degree. There, I happened upon the world of 3D Design and after a few semesters prepared my portfolio for the MFA program in 3D Design. This is where I am today, midway through my first year of graduate school. Was it worth the risk? I suppose it depends on how you value your life. For me, I have never been happier and now look to the future with excitement and optimism. I am spending precious time with my family that I never could have done in my previous profession. Whether my future career will be as financially successful as a surgeon, I highly doubt it, but living a life without regrets is priceless.

Cory, 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?

As I mentioned in the previous response, my path to a creative life was not straightforward. I grew up in a small, blue-collar town along the Mississippi named Muscatine. Both my parents worked hard to raise my two siblings and me. As a young child, I loved to draw and in high school discovered abilities in photography and ceramics. Despite my passion for those areas, I never saw them as a profession. I had never met a professional artist and had no idea what design entailed. I ventured down the medicine path whose time constraints restricted any creative outlets for over 10 years. Gradually my artistic interests resurfaced and now I am pursuing art on a full-time basis as an artist, design student, and teaching assistant pursuing an MFA degree in 3D Design.

From a design standpoint, my focus is on furniture and product design for the home. The goal of my work is to produce timeless pieces with exceptional craftsmanship, unique approaches to design and materials, and clear representation of my values. I want my clients to feel a positive connection to life and nature when they interact with one of my pieces. In addition, I want transparency in the collaborative nature of the work – between the sustainable foresters, the sawmill, metal fabricators, the tool shop, and my design critique group. Each piece is a journey that requires input from multiple people in the local community who are also following their passion. That is why I prioritize locally sourced, natural materials, and traditional joinery in my work. These materials will age with the client, develop a patina, and hopefully become treasured heirlooms that will be passed on to future generations.

My artwork confronts issues of identity, time, and memory through various mixed media techniques including drawing, painting, collage, letterpress printing, intaglio printing, and photography. By mixing various mediums I can borrow colors, symbols, techniques, or iconography that convey my message in a subtle way. The main goal of my work is to draw the viewer into the image, make them question why and how it was made, and wonder what I am trying to say. The viewer may have an entirely different interpretation of the piece, and this opens a dialogue for interesting and sincere conversations.

I am most proud of my solo exhibitions at Hudson River Gallery in Coralville, Iowa and the Muscatine Art Center in Muscatine, Iowa. These gave me the opportunity to openly discuss my work, the concepts, the process, and the client’s reaction to them. This dialogue is incredibly inciteful and rewarding. Personally, there is nothing better than having a client converse with you about a piece and then go on to purchase it for their home. This dialogue is missing from so much of what we buy today. There is no connection to the maker or the process, hence, no support for the local community or consideration of sustainability. My ideal scenario is collaborating with a client from the start, having a clear understanding of what they envision, and then opening a dialogue to make it happen.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I’d had exposure to creative professionals earlier in my creative journey. I think this comes down to being inquisitive and confident to reach out to people and just ask. Most people are happy to share their work. As I gradually became acquainted with a number of artists and designers, I discovered the scope of career options, varied sources of inspiration, and opportunities for collaboration that exist in a creative community.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to make a piece of art or furniture that harmonizes with the aesthetics and values of the client such that they wish to place it in their home. To me, the home is a source of joy and comfort, therefore, deciding to position a piece in the home is the ultimate compliment to a maker.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.corychristiansen.com
• Instagram: @corygchristiansen
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/corychristiansenART/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cory-christiansen-design