Karl Wahl & Deanna Christiansen

Karl Wahl and Diana Christiansen (Husband and Wife) have been a creative design team for nearly twenty years. Their career spans from painting and printmaking to sculpting and fabric design. For the past eight years they have developed a line of jewelry and watches made of anodized aluminum which is created by an electrochemical process that makes it possible to dye the metal in virtually any color. Once the aluminum is dyed and sealed, the color becomes permanent and is part of the metal itself. They create the patterns on the aluminum by using a photo-etch process directly on the metal which removes some of the surface color leaving behind a pattern. Then the individual pieces are cut out of the aluminum and tiny holes are drilled into each piece and joined together with miniature nuts and bolts. This is called cold-joining, as anodized aluminum cannot be soldered. Anodized aluminum does not tarnish, is very light weight and requires no maintenance. Karl and Diana are inspired by shapes, patterns, and colors of modern art and architecture around them. They make many thumbnail sketches which eventually show up in their jewelry either as individual components or as a whole piece. No assistants or apprentices are employed in the creation of their work.