(Sound of machine) Jim Christiansen, Wood Artist: I always had a special relationship with wood.

I like the way it feels.

I like the way it looks.

And I like the fact that I could create something out of it.

You just get a feeling or a connection, a primal connection.

I try to work with wood every day.

It gives my life meaning to, to make things, and to try to create things that people like.

NARRATOR: AND LIKE THEM THEY DO.

WOOD ARTIST JIM CHRISTIANSEN OF MOSCOW, IDAHO IS ADMIRED INTERNATIONALLY FOR HIS FINELY CRAFTED AND INTRICATELY DETAILED PIECES.

Christiansen: I like to put textures on wood.

I think it adds interest.

I think that it adds beauty.

Over the years I've adopted certain symbols that have, really have meaning for me.

Butterflies, dragonflies, various flowers.

NARRATOR: ONE OF CHRISTIANSEN'S TRADEMARKS IS MAKING WOOD LOOK LIKE METAL.

Christiansen: Some of the pieces that I make, you can't tell they're made of wood.

For example, teapots.

And it's been one of my most popular items throughout the years.

They're fun to make.

Kristin LeVier, Wood Artist: His work is almost mind-blowing.

People are amazed when they pick up some of his work, because they think it's metal.

And they pick it up and it has that lightness of wood.

His work has the sense of being a precious object in the most important way of the world, like something that a Russian tsar would have.

Christiansen: I'm going to put the color on as thin as I can.

NARRATOR: TO CREATE THE METALLIC EFFECT, CHRISTIANSEN APPLIES DIFFERENT TRANSPARENT COLORS OVER A BASE OF BLACK PAINT ON THE TEXTURE.

Christiansen: If you put various layers of color on, then you're able to have the high points be a different color.

Then the texture pops, and the color is very subtle, and it almost looks metallic.

And it's just evolved into a style where I've never met paint that I didn't like.

I've had as many as 18 coats of paint on a piece, just to get the color just right.

NARRATOR: THAT DEDICATION DATES BACK TO HIGH SCHOOL, WHEN CHRISTIANSEN FIRST LEARNED WOODWORKING.

IT WAS ONE OF THE FEW CLASSES HE ENJOYED.

THAT'S BECAUSE EVER SINCE FIFTH GRADE, SCHOOL HAD BEEN A CHALLENGING EXPERIENCE.

Christiansen: I had an abusive teacher, emotionally abusive teacher.

And my reaction as a kid was to just stop doing anything.

And so, from fifth grade on, I actually flunked everything.

NARR: WHEN HE WORKED WITH WOOD, THOUGH, HE FELT DIFFERENT.

Christiansen: I had such a "can't-do" attitude, but not in working with wood.

I ended up getting straight As.

NARRATOR: AFTER HIGH SCHOOL, CHRISTIANSEN JOINED THE U.S.

AIR FORCE, WHERE HIS CONFIDENCE GREW.

THEN, WANTING TO HELP STUDENTS LIKE HIMSELF, HE EARNED A PH.D.

IN SPECIAL EDUCATION AND PSYCHOLOGY AND BECAME A SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR.

Christiansen: I had to be successful, because failure would have meant going back to fifth grade.

I couldn't feel like that again.

NARRATOR: BUT SOMETHING WAS ALWAYS MISSING.

THEN A CHANCE ENCOUNTER IN A SHOPPING MALL TURNED HIS LIFE IN A NEW DIRECTION.

Christiansen: There was somebody there with a tool called a Shopsmith.

And I saw this guy and I said, "I think I want to do that."

So I bought one.

And then that was it, the flood gates opened.

(Sound of machine turning on) NARR: THE OLD JOY CAME BACK, SO MUCH SO THAT CHRISTIANSEN EVENTUALLY LEFT ACADEMIA TO DEVOTE HIS LIFE TO ART.

Christiansen: And I've never looked back.

NARR: MOST OF CHRISTIANSEN'S PIECES START AS A BLOCK OF WOOD, WHICH IS THEN "TURNED" ON A LATHE.

Christiansen: That's why they call it "wood turning," because the wood spins.

And it's one of the few woodworking tools where the cutting edge is stationary, and the stuff you're cutting is what's moving.

Wood turning is something that takes a lot of coordination.

You've got to really pay attention and constantly adjust.

You'll see me adjusting the angle of the knife to get the cut that I want.

It's actually quite a challenge to get a perfect line.

You just have to sort of design on the fly.

And that's kind of a fun thing.

When the wood gets thin, then it becomes very risky, because then a mistake can cause the bowl just to shatter and fly apart.

We always joke about making toothpicks, because sometimes that's all the wood you've got left.

And I'm going to make the outside line, outside shape of the bowl, match the inside as close as I possibly can.

(Music) You want a graceful curve.

(Music) OK, I'm going to stop the lathe and take it off.

You see how it changes color.

Gives it that rich walnut look that you're used to.

I like the shape.

I think we've got it.

It's not delicate.

It's got some heft to it.

I was trying to read that.

NARRATOR: CHRISTIANSEN NOT ONLY TRANSFORMS WOOD.

HE'S ALSO HELPED CHANGE THE CULTURE OF THE ART FORM IN HIS REGION.

IN 2013, HE STARTED THE PALOUSE WOODWORKERS' COLLECTIVE.

NOW, INSTEAD OF WORKING ALONE, ALL KINDS OF WOOD ARTISTS SHARE SPACE, EQUIPMENT AND IDEAS IN A LARGE WORKSHOP.

Christiansen: My love for wood art emanates from what it's helped me do in my life.

And so I want others to be successful and to feel the same things that I feel, and I want them to have the same experiences.

Christiansen: That's for sure.

Ben Carpenter, Wood Artist: Can I show you this piece I'm working on?

Christiansen: Yeah!

Carpenter: So, um, you know, I'm... Carpenter: It's a social kind of atmosphere, which for me is really helpful, because, like, if I'm just working by myself, then I just kind of get lonely.

NARRATOR: BEN CARPENTER HAS BEEN MENTORED BY CHRISTIANSEN SINCE HE WAS A TEENAGER.

HIS WORK IS NOW SHOWN IN GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS.

Carpenter: As soon as I started, you know, going over there and learning from him, I just fell in love with it and, and, kept doing it.

He was always just really generous, really inviting.

Christiansen: Yeah, but I mean, this is a whole new level.

LeVier: Oh, good!

Christiansen: It's subtle, I think.

NARRATOR: KRISTIN LEVIER IS A MOLECULAR BIOLOGIST WHO DECIDED TO BRANCH OUT INTO WOODWORKING AFTER STUDYING WITH CHRISTIANSEN.

HER WORK IS ALSO EXHIBITED NATIONWIDE.

LeVier: He absolutely changed my life.

He allowed me to thrive in this crazy idea that I had to switch careers.

He taught me so many things, just how to work with wood, but he taught me how to be generous.

He taught me to be brave enough to hear critique from other people, which you really need to be good at.

NARRATOR: EVEN LONGTIME WOODWORKERS HAVE BENEFITED FROM CHRISTIANSEN'S PERSPECTIVES.

KEITH WELSH HAS BEEN A WOOD ARTIST FOR 30 YEARS.

Keith Welsh, Wood Artist: He's helped me find my own voice.

NARRATOR: ED KRUMPE, A FORMER PROFESSOR OF NATURAL RESOURCES, HAS BEEN WORKING WITH CHRISTIANSEN SINCE 2005.

Ed Krumpe, Wood Artist: I was afraid to try.

I just thought, you know, "He's a master; there's no way I could ever do that."

And, you know, Jim just makes you feel at home.

He's just welcoming.

It didn't matter what level you're at.

It was just, it was just amazing.

Christiansen: Yeah, that's nice.

Krumpe: I don't know what we'd do without this group.

We help each other in all kinds of ways.

It's just one big family.

It's just amazing.

Christiansen: Yeah, it's a pretty design.

Like all your stuff, it's got an unusual twist to it.

(Laughs) I mean it does, yeah.

NARRATOR: FOR HIS DECADES OF ARTISTRY AND MENTORSHIP, CHRISTIANSEN WON THE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IN ART FROM THE MAYOR OF MOSCOW, IDAHO.

HE WAS NOMINATED BY 28 OTHER ARTISTS, INCLUDING STEPHANIE MILLER, A FORMER PROFESSOR OF THEATER.

Stephanie Miller, Wood Artist: He's an incredible person.

He's a gifted artist, and he's brought, I think, woodworking to a new level.

Christiansen: This is the narrow side.

Miller: And he's willing to share that with others.

NARRATOR: FOR CHRISTIANSEN, THAT'S THE BEST REWARD.

Christiansen: Taking a tool that has been so good for me -- and in fact saved me in so many ways –- and sharing it with others is, I can't imagine anything more satisfying.

(Sound of machine) Christiansen: Alright, it's done.

Looks like a precious bowl to me.

Wood is really a sacred material and has such a story to tell.