Meet Janne Larsen | Ink Maker, painter, Vintner for hire

We had the good fortune of connecting with Janne Larsen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Janne, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Art is the ultimate freedom to express your values. I love how artists will just deep dive into some niche skill and then pursue every nuance of that until it’s exhausted for them. I grew up in a very nature filled environment with trees all around us. I would hide among them when people would drive up the driveway to visit us. My mom was at work or in her huge garden. The amount of food we grew for ourselves and then preserved for years to come was a way of life for us. That was my invitation to think of different ways I could preserve nature. Even in Los Angeles, there are plants all around us that offer us a use and that relationship between humans and their plants is a profound and often not talked of way in which to understand the beauty of the world around us.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
In my many years of teaching art, I came to realize this large disconnect with my students to their environment. None of them could name a single plant. In general in my community, there seemed to be a lack of relationship between the many plants that thrive here and the way people engage with them. So I started my deep dive into how to make art materials from the plants that grow around us. I took my students foraging and we found cochineal and walnuts and oak galls. This was an invitation into the world of botanical inks. The idea of making the epitome of a regional artist palette from locally sourced plant materials makes me giddy to this day. Once Covid hit my family and I had plans to go to his parents house in Kauai which we did. This gave me the opportunity to discover the incredibly unique qualities of ink from plants that prospers in Hawaii. This exploration lead me to contact Shannon Hiramoto (an incredible artist and champion of mu’mu in her own right) who was offering space to do workshops. The first person to sign up was Sabra Kauka, the person who officiated my marriage and was the cultural practioner and Kapa expert of Kauai. After a time of partnering to offer Kapa and ink making workshops to the community of Kauai , she wanted to go big time and get an entire halau, or hula group to learn the art of making their own Kapa and then painting it with the inks from local plants. This process was funded by NACF and took two years to complete.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take a friend up to Deb’s Park first, check out peanut lake and the views of downtown. I’d point out all the Oaxalis and walnut trees, the black sage and that crazy invasive mustard plant. We might search for a few oak galls and check out the local Sapote tree to see if it’s in season. If it was my bestie we’d probably make a little black sage infused cocktail and try a bunch of different fruit wines I make and sit around and laugh. We’d probably have to grab some tacos at Villas tacos and some pastries at Kitchen mouse. We’d probably take a nap and then check out some music and yummy food at Checker hall. The next day we’d take a drive up the Angeles Crest and hike Chantry flats and end up at the Adam pack station to pet the donkeys. We’d be sure to check out what’s happening at the Philosophical Research society pop into Skylight books and then grab some food at Night + Market, Song. The following day we might check out Acorn in Eagle rock for some gifts and go to La Loma Gallery to check out some art! If my bestie brought her kids the itinerary would be slightly different. We’d hike up to Debs and fly kites and have a picnic. I’d bring some wine I made from the loquat growing in my yard. We’d watch for falcons. We’d do a little mini road trip to Venice beach. Los Angeles has the forest but also the beach! We’d get hamburgers from Hinanos and check the vendors and get our fortunes read by Zandolff outside Small World books. The next day we would check out the Jurassic technology museum and the Bhagavad-gita Diorama-Museum and head back to neighborhood and check out MorYork and end with a bowl of ramen from Silverlake Ramen. If you visit LA with kids- it’s absolutely necessary to introduce them to the weird.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to give a big thanks to Pilgrim School where I work and fellow artist Katrina Alexy for all her support over the years. Also A big Mahalo to Sabra Kauka my partner for the biggest ink making project I will probably ever do. Thanks to the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation for supporting that cultural undertaking. Thank you to the Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana o Leinā’ala for their participation and hard work to make this project possible. Without Jayna Parongao this project would not have happened. Always a big thanks to my family for supporting me, in particular David and Darney Proudfoot for supporting this latest project, my partner in life, Kimo Proudfoot and my mom, Ellen Larsen.

Website: https://cargocollective.com/jannelarsen

Instagram: mslarsensbotanicalinks