# @westernavearts on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DY9ySrfFJ4t
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/66081565-westernavearts-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/604d7a9527.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-05-30T14:01:23.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Western Avenue | Studios & Lofts (@WesternAveArts) — https://gondola.cc/WesternAveArts

## Caption

Meet Karen Christians, creating from Studio 561 in today’s #Artist365 spotlight.

Karen Christians is a recognized educator and maker in the metal arts. She earned her BFA with High Honors from Massachusetts College of Art in 1997. A passionate craft advocate, she founded Metalwerx: School for Jewelry and Metal Arts in Waltham, MA, in 1998. In 2012, she established the Jewelry Shop at Artisans Asylum in Allston, MA, supporting maker spaces and the jewelry teaching studio at Lowell Makes.

Karen teaches and lectures nationwide and has been published in numerous jewelry publications. In 2006, she attended Burning Man and launched the Oasis 47 Pendant Project, which she has managed annually since.

Since 2016, she has spends 6 months a year in Chiang Mai, studying Thai metal chasing at Wat Srisuphan and teaching jewelry. She authored Making the Most of Your Flex-Shaft and Jewelry of Burning Man, and is working on Jewelry of Star Trek. She is currently developing the non-profit Makerspace Heritage Arts, a joint education mission between the US and Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Karen maintains a studio at Western Avenue in Lowell, MA, and lives in Waltham with her husband Dave..
You can find her at www.karenchristians.com or karenchristians

#MetalArts #ChiangMai #ThaiArt #JewelryDesign #StudioLife #ArtistAtWork #SupportLocalArtists #MadeInLowell #ExploreLowell

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 24
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- **Comments:** 1

## Tags

supportlocalartists, metalarts, artist365, thaiart, madeinlowell, jewelrydesign, explorelowell, artistatwork, studiolife, chiangmai

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