Spot the Designer - May Gañán/ Spain

What did you want to be when you were a child?

Artist and journalist, I guess I’ve finally become them both…

When have you started creating jewelry? How did this passion come about?

I’ve always played around with anything that came to my hands in order to imagine a different use or meaning to it. So I’ve started making jewelry without knowing I was making such a thing. I was just playing with materials and objects. My first collections were made out of recycling and upcycling ready-made objects. Pieces in which I was playing with all toys from childhood, trying to bring them back to life in a new context. Refreshing nostalgia and transforming it into a proud sort of melancholy, if such a thing could exist. I always loved the way my grandmother used to keep her beautiful fabrics and objects from the past that she wasn’t using anymore. She cherished them and had a devotion for them. I remember she would open those plenties of beautiful things drawers… I believe those memories planted the seed that germinated, resulting on my handmade artistic creations.

What was your first project or significant piece for you and from what point of view?

The first collection that really spoke about myself in a very personal way was my Dreamers one, a collection of pieces (which I stilI keep on making) in which my paintings and drawings are key. From that collection on, there has been a more cohesive conversation among the languages I use as an artist: there is painting as much as there is poetry behind. So I think my painting jewels are very iconic pieces and they speak about my work and my creative universe. In 2018 “The Sea Explorer” brooch and the “Hand in hand” ring were awarded at the Milano Fashion Week with the Condé Nast Award on Creativity at Artistar Jewels Contest.

How do you charge your batteries? What other passions and creative interests do you have?

I love being by the sea, waking up early in the morning and going for a walk along the seashore feeling the beauty of nature’s simplicity. Those are moments to recharge. But I do love as well living in the city, it always inspires me. Going to nice cafés, bookshops, and art galleries. I love to find little pieces of paradise in the middle of the crowd. Those oases are the key. Spaces to be alone, think and reflect to reconnect with my inner self. My other passions are reading, painting, writing and taking photos. They are essential tools of my way of being in the world, and a way to express what I feel about what we live.

What does the connection between manufacturing tradition and contemporary design mean to you?

The most important thing about tradition is the essence which has been transferred to us as a knowledge we should honor. But it is also the way I understand creation. We can be making use of technology to help us bring out a piece, but when you are looking for something unique and genuine, hands are always the best way to create. There is something about hand making that will never die. The tactile feeling, the beauty of the energy somebody has put into it to make it happen. The real signature of the author, his or her fingerprints, will always be there. An invisible link that talks about the piece inside out in a very subtle yet direct way. You know when you experience it. Nothing could replace the level of attention, care, and detail of hands working on a piece. A piece! One by one. And I am, of course, not talking about perfection, neither imperfection, but sublimation. A handmade piece made with a purpose can't be replaced. There is a bit of the soul of the artist lying there, and that is priceless.

Is there a self-portrait piece that speaks most about you?

“The key” (is lost?!.. JA, JA..!)

Which material have you not yet used is a temptation and a challenge for you?

Many, of course. I am quite curious about new materials replacing plastics and anyone made from waste. It requires research, but that’s why we are here, to make a change and to create without making a bad impact neither exploitation of our resources.

How was the pandemic period for you as a jewelry designer?

Very sad at the beginning, very shocking and paralyzing. Once my mind was a kind set to the new situation, I could start exploring deep through painting and writing. I did a lot of it during confinement. Jewelry came last into that process of healing through art. I went through a period of real sadness, not finding a meaning for what I was doing. After a while lost, my “Far Close Collection” started to emerge in my mind, and it came to the rescue. This collection allowed me to talk in-depth about that lack of meaning and the loneliness we all feel in a world that could end tomorrow. The process wasn’t easy, but the outcome, I think it was. That collection has been already exhibited in Spain, Italy and will be shown now in Romania.

How do you see the future of contemporary jewelry?

The future will be better than the present, I hope. As more people get to know it, more Jewelry Weeks around the world are taking place and more galleries are opening. The goal is to make contemporary jewelry as an art, since for me they share a common language. So the more people see these works like art pieces, the more they will be known and appreciated. For most people, however, it is difficult to believe there is so much more than aesthetic and utility in a piece you wear; we should talk more about what we do in order to make people approach our work with deeper knowledge and insights. In times when technology means all, Arts & Crafts have definitely something to say (two centuries later as it appears) to bring us again back to the human essence.

Find more about the designer May Gañán