We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Steven Gagner. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Steven below.
Hi Steven, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I have been a creative my entire life. I don’t think that I was giving much thought to being a professional when I was cutting toilet paper tubes and hot gluing them together as a child, but I can tell you now that it was very clear I was born to make things. Some people are wired for numbers, others for medicine or cooking; I am wired for making. When I was old enough to start thinking about actually working and starting a career I was always drawn to the ones where I could make things. In high school I found a passion in video and it all grew from there.
Steven, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Making is not something I do; it’s who I am. I was raised in a home full of art and crafting. My mother was an art teacher and educator. Pipe cleaners, paint, paper, scissors and toilet paper tubes. Everything was an opportunity to create. I remember from a very young age that I looked at the world from a very different lens. I was able to see all the things around me and identify them, but my mind would immediately see something else too, the endless possibilities of what that thing could be. Patterns, shapes, deconstructing and reconstituting became a daily way of life for me. I loved learning how to put things together which of course only led me to wanting to know how things worked. I could often be found at my dad’s work bench with screwdrivers and pliers taking things apart and testing their connections and intricacies.
As I grew up in the 80s and 90s, technology was becoming an everyday component of our lives. I was born at just the right time; raised in the analog world of shaping the world with my own two hands and the tools that fit in them and then trained in the digital world of computers and electronics. I created with anything and EVERYTHING available to me. Over the next decade I was teaching myself to design, draw, sculpt, build electronics, and code. In high school, I found a merger of my passions in video. Digital storytelling through early non-linear video editing (using computer software as opposed to editing tape to tape) very quickly became an immediate obsession.
I was very fortunate to have my devotion recognized by a few select teachers, including Jason Pelowski, my media productions instructor, who allowed me to repeat my courses multiple times to continue my daily exposure to creating.
After high school I continued to study video at Marquette University and while working at/running the college tv station I immersed myself in the backend of the engineering that made it all possible. Using my background in coding and my love of blending multiple skill sets and mediums, I also helped setup and run the student media interactive department that further brought all the college’s media platforms (newspaper, magazine, radio, and tv) to the internet.
After college I ran my own businesses building websites and producing videos. I worked for studios and shops surrounded by creatives. I continued my art in all of my hobbies at home. I took the leap into self employment in 2012 as a full-time freelance motion designer and was wildly successful. After only a few years I found myself questioning why I only pursued and shared my video creativity. From that day on I had a hard time fitting into the one creative box I had put myself in. I decided to do one of the things I do best; merging it all together. I continued making videos, but I also moved into augmented reality by producing location-based videos that could be viewed on location via QR codes. I didn’t want all of my creative energy to just be on a screen though, so I got back to my hands and became a carpenter. I started combining and expanding my skills in digital design and coding to become a 3D printer. I could create something digital and hold it in the physical world. I continued down all of my paths to bring me to discovering laser cutting in 2017. I’ve been hooked on this creative process for seven years now. Merging my multiple skill sets, including carpentry, digital illustration, and laser cutting seems as easy and natural to me as breathing. Being able to design in the digital world and bring those ideas into the physical has been a daily joy.
After all of that, I now run MN MAKE, my own laser cutting/engraving jewelry business with over 500 unique designs.
Laser cutting hardwoods such as maple, walnut, cherry and also cast acrylics I create unique pieces that are smile generators, thought producers, and statement pieces. I also do custom work creating one of a kind gifts, awards, and treasures for companies and individuals like cutting boards, coasters, guitar personalization, specialty frames, trophies, plaques, and more.
I have many passions and professions; they are all for making; it’s who I am.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Our society generally views art and creativity as a luxury, but I would argue that it is a necessity. We value and seek out connection, but often overlook how we do that. It’s the musician that creates the music we dance to with our friends. It’s the writers and actors that allows us to enter another world of possibilities. It’s the designers and artists who shape and decorate the homes we live in, and the buildings and structures that surround us. Art and creativity is not a luxury or an extra; it is one of the most essential aspects of everything around us. Recognizing that, we would be better off funding art programs and teaching children that creativity isn’t an extra thing if you have time/money for it, but a basic and essential component to everything you will do and experience in your life.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is being in control of what I put into the world. Entrepenurialship gives people the freedom to conduct their own business the way they see fit. Combining entrepreneurship with creativity and art allows me to completely be my true self and express that out into the world. It is what helps me form real connections and appreciation for other people and in turn invite them to see me as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mnmake.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mn.make
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gagnersl
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MNMake
Image Credits
Photos by Steven Gagner