jewellery
Alana Burns
Please tell us a bit about yourself. How has the place where you grew up shaped your view of crafts?
I grew up in Mexico, a country that is rich in colors, sounds, smells, textures, and crafts. It was natural for this reality to enter my imagination. Creativity is a part of everyday life, regardless of social or political differences. I am always amazed at how people here create possibilities from the mundane. For example, the man sculpting flowers from tin cans in front of the corner store.
Were there any practitioners or other artists that influenced you early on?
I am always feeling inspired by others.
We know that you have a multidisciplinary approach to your art. Can you share your thoughts on the meaning embedded into your practices, both textile painting, and jewellery making?
Within both practices is the metamorphosis of an object. The candle is melted to become a multitude of images and the shell I find gains a new world and language as a worn object.
Take us through the process of making and designing your pieces.
I arrive at my studio and wait until I feel present. I believe it is important to empty your mind and become a vessel. Then you begin to paddle, guide the boat, experiment, and play. At times you float with the current and sometimes you paddle against it.
How do you build a balanced relationship with the materials that you are using, and let go of what you expect?
I feel it is a collaboration between the materials and myself. I start with an intention but never a specific idea because the materials I work with are not in my full control. Wax dances when it melts. Sometimes that dance is spontaneous. In jewelry, a shape invites me to feel inspired. In other mediums, such as film, even when I want to take a specific photo the beauty is in the unexpected, the happenstance, the place in between.
Can you share with us how your background in psychology is influencing your art form?
I think by practicing psychology you are reminded that we all see the world differently. Our perceptions are subjective. I find a shell and within that shape, I find a personal meaning. We all have the ability to find meaning within the world and create new possibilities. When you are creating you are trying to reveal the unseen.
Where do you think lies the biggest potential to preserve important local crafts and traditions?
In the end, traditions are being referenced by artists. I think we have lost tradition because of reference.
What upcoming projects make you excited right now?
The launching of La Mar my jewelry project. I am excited to see what will happen next.
Where and how can people engage more with your work?
The easiest way to find me is @_alanaburns my personal Instagram or @lama_r which is my jewerly project account, you can follow my upcoming projects and have a view into my studio in Mexico City.
