Ferndale Art Gallery Seeks Help Identifying Suspect Who Stole Ceramics on Camera
Ceramic artist Larissa Stevenson's handmade pieces were stolen from Ferndale's Main Street co-op gallery; the suspect glanced directly at the security camera before taking the work.
A woman walked into the Ferndale Arts Gallery on a late Friday afternoon, glanced directly at the newly installed security camera, and walked out with at least three handmade ceramic pieces that weren't hers to take.
The theft, captured on surveillance footage at 535 Main Street, occurred around 4:55 p.m. on March 28. The stolen work belonged to ceramic artist Larissa Stevenson, one of twenty-two artists whose creations fill the gallery's cooperative space inside the historic Ferndale Arts & Cultural Center, a building that dates to circa 1929 and once housed Peers Motor Sales.
"It seems like this person was looking at the camera, and still, she took the pieces," Stevenson said.
The gallery had installed the cameras shortly before the theft, and the footage is clear enough to identify the suspect. Since the incident, the video has been shared with the Ferndale Police Department and distributed across Facebook, Instagram, and Nextdoor, as well as the community crime-awareness group Humboldt Thieves.
In a cooperative gallery where each of the twenty-two contributing artists receives payouts directly tied to their sales, the loss of original handmade work is more than a financial setback. Stevenson's ceramics represent hours of individual craft, and their disappearance cuts into both her income and the collective inventory that draws visitors to one of Ferndale's cultural anchors. The town of roughly 1,400 residents pulls tourists well beyond Humboldt County to its Victorian Main Street, and the gallery, staffed daily by a rotating artist on duty, sits at the center of that draw.
Stevenson is also concerned the pieces won't stay local. "There is a possibility she's selling it online," she said, urging anyone who spots the work on resale platforms or in the area to come forward.
Her message to the suspect is direct: "I'd really wanna tell this person, if she's watching, please return it."
Anyone who recognizes the woman from the surveillance footage, or who believes they have seen Stevenson's ceramic work listed for sale, should contact the Ferndale Police Department. Tips can also be submitted in person at the gallery, located at 535 Main Street, Ferndale, CA 95536.
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