Janaki Larsen

BACK TO SPRING – NEW COLLECTION: Available here on March 20, 2021 at 9am PST. Evoking everything from petals to pepto-bismol, cotton candy to flamingos, strawberry milkshakes to watermelons, tutus, meringues and sakura, Janaki Larsen Ceramics takes a colorful turn for spring 2021. We can hardly wait!

Photos courtesy of Janaki Larsen.

Bioluminescence, fire flies, city lights after a long drive, the light at the end of the tunnel…. this next release is all about luminous darkness. Porcelain has the in incredible property of strong, soft and translucent. These vessels can be used as vases, cups but really are most beautiful illuminated.

During these past months, as most of the population has been staying in place, we have received letter upon letter in the mail and hundreds of newsletters in our inboxes. Some to inform, others to support and many attempting to comfort. I have had no greater message of hope and transformation then this one below from Janaki Larsen.

Janaki is an amazing ceramicist, potter, artist, designer, a wonderful mother and a dear friend who I was lucky beyond belief to have met in 2013. I promise to write another post on how that happened next time. To this day, I remain her ardent supporter and avid fan. With her permission, I am publishing her newsletter message from May 4, 2020.

You can find her shop here and regularly check for updates for her next collection. Her pieces usually sell out within 30 minutes when she releases them online.

Each piece is a work of art and truly one of a kind.

SHELTERING IN PLACE
by Janaki Larsen May 4, 2020

Hello, and thank you from the studio!

I started writing this over 3 weeks ago. It has taken me some time to work out what to say. I wanted to get it right. Although things have unfurled quietly, and another shift feels imminent, the sentiments still ring true, so I will just send it before it becomes obsolete.

It’s been almost 3 weeks since the first news of all my contracts being suspended arrived in my inbox. I had a total freak-out. I was so worried about how to pay my rents, how to keep afloat during all of this, and then homeschool on top of it. I was worried about everyone else too and how they would figure it out. Then one day, I had a little epiphany. I am always worried about money and paying my rent and I’m always worried about everyone else too. I like to worry, that is nothing new. What was new about this unprecedented situation was that without the contracts dictating my time, I could make whatever I wanted. Without the fear, it’s like a beautiful, quiet dream and without worry, it’s total creative freedom. I decided then and there that it would be an opportunity squandered, to not give it all I’ve got right now. To not make things that mean the most to me but choose to become paralyzed by the fear would be a moment wasted. So, I put my head down and worked, there was no other choice.

I am so grateful I have a medium to help me articulate all my thoughts and feelings. I’ve often thought about impermanence and beauty in the face of adversity, flourishing in unhospitable circumstances, about solitude and security, surrender, acceptance, longing, loss, control, and sorrow, about community, relationships, and belonging. My favorite states of being are; change, evolution, and transformation. This global phenomenon has only magnified these subjects and given me a lot to work with.

Spring keeps springing, people find ways to cope, even flourish, people freak out or continue to live in fear, but regardless, life continues with or without us. What really matters is how we choose to use this time that has been given to us without our asking.

I am eternally thankful for the support I’ve received over the years for my work and other projects, I am always in awe every time anyone buys something from me. Truly. I’ve been able to pay my rents, remain buoyant, and inspired, support others however I can AND Homeschool (somewhat questionably) and that is more than enough. So, thank you so so much!

Wishing everyone the best that can possibly come from this strange time. There is much to be gleaned if we can remain open to all the possibilities, learn to see what we were once blind to, and carry it forward into our futures.

All the love and some more thank you’s, Janaki

MORE ABOUT JANAKI LARSEN’S JOURNAL HERE.

JANAKI LARSEN CERAMICS

All photos are the property of Janaki Larsen.
Learn more about her and shop her newest collection through the link below.