Flow State

Flow State is the most complex work I have made to date. Each ceramic element was hand-built, and the lamp developed through repeated trial and error: triumphs and failures, forms remade, and ideas coming to life in front of my eyes.

The work began with a tension at the centre of my practice. My best work comes when I am fully immersed, when attention narrows, time falls away and I can follow the material without forcing it. Yet that state can be frustratingly difficult to reach amid mounting expectations, economic pressure and the basic work of keeping both the studio and myself afloat.

The lamp gives this tension a physical form. Individually made elements rise into a tall column, moving between carved relief, patterned clay and reflective lustre before opening into a broad ceramic shade edged with iridescent baroque pearls. Each section holds its own rhythm, while relying on the others to form one working light. The floral carving and swirling motifs draw deeply on my Balinese heritage. They come from a visual language rooted in memory and tradition, and making them became a way to move inward—to access self-trust and intuition when the process felt uncertain. The work is a tool I use to rediscover myself: the more I lean into it, the more I see. When illuminated, light travels across the carving, lustre and pearl fringe, revealing the labour held in its surfaces.

Flow State is a working light and a record of the conditions required to make honestly: trial and error, sustained attention, and the willingness to trust an idea before knowing whether it will hold.

Tantri Mustika