Could you tell me a little about yourself?

Hi, I’m Ani Flys and I was raised in a multi-cultural family, living between the United States and Spain. My father was Ukrainian and my mother, Spanish. I received little influence from my father’s culture, except for decorating Ukrainian Easter eggs and these, would ironically end up leading me to my work today. I studied sculpture at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. However, shortly afterwards, I moved to Spain (where I still reside). Upon facing a financial reality-check, I ended up working in university study abroad programs. Only in the past 10 years did I go back to art-making, once my children were no longer dependent and I had more time and economic stability.

How did you get started in jewelry making, and what inspired you to pursue it as a career?

As a result of decorating tiny parakeet eggs, the urge to go beyond and make jewelry emerged. What began as an attempt to make findings for these eggs, resulted in opening my eyes to the world of contemporary jewelry. I discovered the similarities to sculpture-making with the added convenience of the scale and wearability. The aesthetic language I used in my youth has since resurfaced and continued to develop. I hear myself asking the same questions and having the same concerns that I had in the past. My artwork has become first and foremost now. Upon taking my first steps in this field, the recognition in different jewelry shows and awards received (such as Lost in Jewelry Magazine) as well as finding kindred spirits in groups such as Precious Collective, confirmed that returning to my dream, was still possible.

How would you describe your artistic style, and what themes or concepts do you explore in your work?

The eggshell is the central focus of my work, and different styles, ideas, tendencies, techniques evolve around this. Sometimes I try to make pieces without eggshells, but end up including it as a main element. At this moment, it has dominated my work. I find fascinating all the possibilities and limitations the eggshell offers: degrees of resistance, changing identities, implicit meanings, contrasts with other components, etc. The question is how far can I push the limits?

What materials do you most enjoy working with, and why?

In case the reader hasn’t gotten it yet…. EGGSHELLS! The initial steps required me to investigate ways of reinforcing eggshells so the pieces could be used as jewelry. That, together with the decision I took to eliminate decorative surfaces in order to focus on the shell itself, unleashed endless possibilities. Eggs have so many connotations: life, growth, and freedom, vs fragility, doom and destruction. But as I work with this material… new references develop: sedimentation, fragments, conglomerates…. It really offers a wide scale of possibilities, and one step leads to another. I have a whole list of venues pending to discover.

In addition to eggshells, I enjoy using metals and other materials such as rubber or resins to complement the shells. Combining eggshells with metal is especially challenging and exciting.

What do you hope people feel or think when they see your jewelry?

Is that a real egg? Can I touch it? Will it break? Wow, this can be made into beautiful jewelry! The opposite is unfortunately probably also true. This is too fragile to purchase or wear. In most cases, it is stronger than expected; the fragile look is often deliberate. Time backs me since I have had pieces for 10 years frequently worn and not precisely coddled. And finally, to throw in some humour… all the jokes/verbal expressions related to eggs are constants when discussing my pieces. It “cracks” me up!

What are some of the challenges you face as a contemporary jewelry artist, and how do you overcome them?

The hardest part for me balancing the cost of the materials and pricing. To what extent can I justify using costly materials (such as silver or gems) in combination with eggshells, if the risk of the shell breaking (if dropped) is a real one? Does the piece work without the egg, or with a broken egg? Though I do work with silver, I tend to use other metals such as copper for this reason. Not only is it less expensive, but I also like the color contrasts.

Deciding on a price for my work is the hardest part. I have yet to sort out what is a fair price weighing the different factors of: creativity, time invested, cost of materials and fragility/longevity of the piece.

How do you see your work evolving in the future, and what new techniques or materials are you interested in exploring?

As I work through the pieces, I find myself leaning more towards conceptual pieces and ephemeral ones. I have always been attracted to performance art and I shed no tears over things that break or are transformed. And while my eggshells are reinforced, they are still somewhat delicate. The next challenge might be to not reinforce them and let time and use, transform them. Actually, I am completing some pieces now that require the bearer to take (or not take) action on the egg.

A second challenge I have on my do-do list is to work with bioplastics (especially those made of eggshells) and avoid using resins. Possibly I will also combine them with upcycled plastics in order to create a more ecological product.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received, and how have you applied it to your life and work?

It came rather randomly. During art school we had a course with a performance artist who was very sensitive, and saw right through me though we barely knew each other. At one point she took my hands and looked me in the eye and said something to the effect of, Accept who you are; it is ok to be open. As a perfectionist I have always been very critical about my work and my persona (being too spontaneous and open, blurting out things I should have kept to myself, my insecurities towards my work and always asking for second opinions....). But slowly I have learned to accept it and focus on the positive aspects that spontaneity and honesty bring on. And yes, I still fight my demons and insecurities, but dwell less on these.

What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out in jewelry making?

The journey will probably not (and maybe, should not) be as you expected. Times change, you change, and life demands what it does. So, if you veer away, that too is ok. You may, or may not go back. But follow your instinct and you will end up where you were meant to be. If you love making jewelry, it will always stay with you, though maybe in ways or at a time you never expected.

Can you share an anecdote about a piece of jewelry that holds special significance to you or has an interesting backstory?

A necklace called Mercedes. I had just completed some collections using broken eggshells laced up in soft materials such as nylon and rubber. But I wanted to see how I could attach the eggshell to a metal structure without gluing, but rather, riveting. And this was my first piece and quite an ambitious one as well.

It is a short necklace that embraces the neck much like the white cloth ruffs on the El Greco portraits. Coincidence was that mother passed away while I was finishing the necklace. A piece I would have loved to have shown her because she often explained El Greco’s artwork to her students and was very fond of the painter. The neckpiece is dedicated to her, Mercedes, my mom.

The necklace was shown in several places, including the Decorative Arts museum in Madrid and shows in Italy and Spain. In 2025 it will be included in a folk and contemporary jewelry exhibit in the Garment Museum (Museo del Traje) in Madrid. But aside from exhibits, it is a piece that I will not sell and will always keep in my own collection. I always think of her when I see it.

The Jewelry Artist Ani Flys wearing their necklace “Mercedes”

What role does experimentation play in your creative process? Have you ever encountered any unexpected results that led to new design directions?

This is a continuum of my work. I tend to be spontaneous and dive into a piece without overthinking the process or manner of approaching an idea. So yes, things happen (or break!). And voilà, maybe it was meant to be cracked or cut, taking me down a different venue. This also reminds me of what I was once told ages ago: Be creative with your mistakes. A motto I hold close to my heart. I feel lucky because I can permit myself to be playful using inexpensive and readily available base material. And “play” is key in the creative process.

Can you share any upcoming projects or exhibitions where our readers can see your work?

I am in the process of submitting pieces to different shows, but for the moment, I can confirm my participation in Luis Acosta’s Dreams and Reality travelling exhibition with a series called Flip Side. Two of my pieces will be in London (through Precious Collective) and another two, will be in the Madrid Garment Museum exhibit next January. I am still participating in the Alliages’, Missing Memories travelling exhibit with my Memory Cores. I am crossing my fingers to be included in more, but it is too soon to confirm! Never count your shows before the eggs are hatched!

The Story of Ani Flys

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