In Other Studios: (Maria Gonzalez)

María is the designer and creator of Crudo Caan, a jewelry brand that was born from the natural union between "crudo" type materials and hands.

Through Crudo Caan, María seeks to converge the times of ancestral practices, worldviews, and spaces in today's Mexico.

María's path to creating this project began through working in clay, and little by little she was redirected towards jewelry.

What do you consider to be your most significant source of inspiration?

The source of inspiration for María is manifested through the repetition of certain visual elements, which lead her to sharpen her vision and attention to details that often go unnoticed. Its design integrates pre-Hispanic icons that emerge amid urban noise, as exemplified by the Copernicus Collection.

Maria is drawn to encounters, such as the presence of a snakehead inside a building. Also, facts such as the case of the Templo Mayor, where the original rocks were extracted to build numerous structures around it, thus taking fragments of a structure to various corners in the center of the city. In this creative process, María returns to our roots, paying tribute to the history and culture that have shaped us.

Is there a specific message or theme that you seek to convey through your designs?

Maria seeks to be able to contemplate all the Aztec and pre-Hispanic roots, taking them with her, and thus reconnecting with the past in the contemporary world through her design. This is achieved not literally, but by taking elements that were used in rituals and amulets as inspiration.

How do you interpret darkness in your work?

For María, the idea of darkness as a contrast is manifested, highlighting that one cannot exist without the other; without defining labels that limit its reach. She seeks to let each side simply be as it is, without the need for imposed interpretations.

How important is "lightness" in your art, whether in terms of light, color, weight, or other aspects?

The way to work with lightness for María is to create an aesthetic where heavy pieces appear light, finding a way to use dense materials in a way that visually transmits a feeling of lightness.

How would you define balance and how do you achieve it?

The symmetrical idea of balance involves finding a point of harmony that does not necessarily balance both sides equally. Maria tries to work on reestablishing the notion of balance, where symmetry is not the only axis of reference. For her, it is important to explore the possibility of thinking innovatively, leaving convention, but maintaining another axis of balance, thus reinterpreting the very meaning of the word "balance."

María's workshop in Condesa