Nikki Lau was born and raised in San Francisco, CA. She received her MFA in ceramics at Pennsylvania State University in 2016. She received her BA in Interdisciplinary Visual Arts at the University of Washington in 2008. She was the artist resident at The Clay Art Center in New York from 2018-2019 and the 2019-2020 resident at Armory Art Center in Florida. Her work is a mixture of sculpture and pottery.
In 2020 at the height of the pandemic, Nikki found her way back to San Francisco. She started making and selling pottery full time. She has participated in short term and long term residencies both nationally and internationally. She typically splits her time between California and Pennsylvania, teaching at different community studios and living her snowbird life as she works on her pottery and home décor business Little Lau Shop @littlelaushop. She is currently the artist in resident at Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media for 2025-2026
I started Little Lau Shop at the height of the pandemic in 2020, on my mom’s kitchen table in San Francisco. I feel grateful to have a small business that I continue to do today. I make each ceramic pot using hand building techniques. I pinch, coil, and slab build my forms. I sculpt individual faces for every pot. Each handmade piece is then finished with a glaze and underglaze finish.
I make pots to care for and love my inner child. I have what you would call resting happy face, because of this I make creatures with different and unique facial expressions that have big and small emotions. Through pottery, sculpture, and home décor, I created friends that helped me navigate the loneliness of the pandemic. One of my heroes growing up and still feels important today is Mr. Rogers. I make worlds that are kinder, softer, and more empathic.