Mystic Mija is the creative project and work of Jynell Dimalanta.

A Ventura native, Jynell has been practicing ceramics for over 15 years. She teaches at the Santa Paula Art Museum and runs their ceramics program. She studied ceramics and digital art at Cal State University Channel Islands.

She has participated in ceramic residency programs in Denmark, China, Mexico, and California.

“Clay feels intuitive—a material that meets me halfway. And working with it feels like learning a dance, with all it’s layers. There isn't ever a final destination in this work. Even at the end of the building and firing processes, each stage builds onto the next and pulls me into an unknown direction.

I am inspired by form, the movements of the elements and how they shift in rhythms, shapes and how they respond to light and illuminate spaces around us.

My current body of work is made for utility and necessity. Using my vessels as a canvas to explore the dance between refinement and play."