Sarah Larnach

On following a life path in the arts...

There was less a discovery and more of a surrender to my passion for art. I grew up in a house the celebrated art and music – Mum would take me to her oil painting classes when I was three or four-years’ old. I always knew her as a part-time painter though she warned me not to pursue it as a career. At Selwyn College in Auckland, then known for its arts, teachers saw my drive and affinity for visual art and informally arranged that I could take art as two of my subjects. I graduated early but took a break that stretched into years of interesting travel and mind-numbing jobs. I realised that art, which I had wilfully ignored for years, was my strength. By this time my mum was working as an artist full time so, acknowledging that her advice was bunk, I enrolled at art school in Melbourne and thrived.  

On embracing creativity in every day life...

Creativity is the current that runs through me all day, every day. It requires reining in from time to time. I play creatively with my daughter – we spend less time jumping on her trampoline and more time using it as a huge canvas for chalk drawings. She’s got a bonkers good imagination and that makes our dog walks and fruit picking into adventures. If I’m not using creativity in my work (that’s rare) then I feel the need to cook and make preserves.    

On being inspired...

I find inspiration in the beauty of humans, friends and strangers; in people being heroes in gorgeous or small ways every day. At one time inspiration used to be heavily centered in music and skateboarding scenes for me, and now I can find it everywhere.

On a favourite musician...

It’s been a while since I listened to her, but Janis Joplin was impactful in my teenage years. You can sense it in her work, but her biography told the story of a driven, young woman who had to pioneer her role in rock music and valued being interesting above being pretty. Succeeding because of, not in spite of, her uniqueness made her a decent muse. 

On shopping locally...

Buying New Zealand-made products is positive on so many levels. From bringing down energy consumption by not shipping products around the globe, to ensuring resource and workers’ rights there’s accountability. Shopping locally enables Kiwis to do meaningful work creating products, strengthening our community and economy, and providing fair income to local families. 

On being grateful...

It is an absolute privilege to live here in Aotearoa and I give thanks to the mana whenua who were on this land before me. I am grateful to have my daughter and to the people who helped me become her mother. I am grateful for my family and how our unit has worked together so that I have a beautiful place to raise my child.  

On collaborating with Ladyhawke...

We met almost twenty years ago in Melbourne when she moved a few houses down from mine. Our first collaboration, within a year, was a “club night” or “pub night?” with music trivia bingo, us DJing. We made some excellent posters together back then. We DJ’d together until Pip was too busy with music ­­– that’s also when I started making her album covers, starting with her self-titled album in 2007/8. 

We have been on the same wavelength with the same influences and similar interests since we met. It’s one of those nice relationships where you 'get' each other. I might be the straight man in the duo. She’s the Mulder to my Scully.

A few times over the years, Pip has set me back on track with my art when I have needed it.  

On supporting children’s health through Cure Kids...

I’m thankful to have been given the opportunity to contribute my specialty (art and design), and to know that this will fund research, and improve the lives of vulnerable children.  

Sarah contributed to Great Full’s Jams project by lending her artistic design talents to Ladyhawke’s ‘Mokonui' artwork. Visit her website and follow her on Instagram.