Welcome, Lavanya Murugesan!
/We are so excited to welcome Lavanya Murugesan (she/her) to the Rain City Clay crew! Lavana, who also goes by Lava, will be working as a technical assistant. The technical assistant will help with day-to-day tasks around the studio including mixing glazes, helping to manage reclaim, loading and unloading kilns, and more!
Lavanya was born and raised in Chennai, India and came to North America (Alaska) when she was a teenager. She experienced quite the temperature and culture shock moving from the tropics to snow. Education carried Lavanya from Alaska to Oregon and she settled in sunny California to start a career in Electrical Engineering. There, in San Diego, Lava took her very first pottery class at a local community college as an outlet from the stressful and regimented life she was living. Lavanya was drawn to functional pottery and was immediately attracted to the wheel. She describes her introduction to clay as a love/hate relationship at first, “the more I pushed the clay, the more it pushed back and I had to learn the fine art of working with the clay instead of muscling through it.” That valuable life lesson has stayed with her ever since.
Lavanya and her co-pilot, Boomer. (a 6 yr. old Boxer/Lab)
Fast forward some years, and an engineering career behind her, Lavanya felt the desire to do something more meaningful and fulfilling with her life. Whether it is tending to her house plants or volunteering at the shelter, learning to make breads from sourdough starter, a hike into nature, or playing a game of fetch with her fur baby, Lavanya believes the joy in life comes from the small and simple things.
Lavanya feels a deep connection to clay, “clay has always been part of my life’s journey and it feels timely to bring it to the forefront. Loading a kiln, helping a student find their pot in the sea of bisque ware, cleaning the wet and dirty floors, or troubleshooting a problem – Sign me up!" Life is about learning, experiencing and helping others so here I am to do exactly that”
Born/Raised: Chennai, India
Education: BS/MS Electrical Engineering
(Oregon State/San Diego State)
Interests/Hobbies: Hiking, yoga, baking, fermenting, traveling,
going to the gym, knitting/crocheting, traveling, calligraphy, flute playing, and trying to figure out the secrets of keeping orchids alive
Random facts about Lavanya: Can independently move each eyeball (Doh!) She and Boomer compete in Barn Hunting. And she’s currently training to climb Mt Baker in June 2023!
Quote that resonates: Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.