Photo by Chris Casella
OUR ALUMNI
Bringing art and history to life When Larissa Boiwka ’05 was an anthropology undergraduate at Ohio State studying ancient cultures, she never imagined where her degree would take her after graduation. After taking classes on witchcraft, archaeology and tribal cultures, Boiwka traveled extensively, tracking the sites she learned about in her classes. She even had the opportunity to summit a volcano in Guatemala to visit the shrine of the local deity Maximón, an impish saint who accepts offerings of handrolled cigarettes and alcohol. “The expedition sounded like the beginning of an Indiana Jones movie, so of course, I jumped at that invitation,” said Boiwka. Boiwka’s adventurous nature lends itself well to life as an entrepreneur. Her bespoke corsetry business, Wilde
Hunt Corsetry, formed serendipitously after she made a corset for herself for a Halloween costume. “While I was busy considering my next move, my business formed very organically, and it became abundantly clear that there was a real niche and strong demand for what I was creating,” Boiwka said of her business’ beginnings. “It’s definitely not something that I could have planned in advance.” Under the Wilde Hunt Corsetry label, Boiwka creates custom leather corsets, often using historical beading and embroidery techniques and incorporating inspiration from the ancient cultures she studied in school. Boiwka, who is an entirely self-taught designer, credits the education she received from Ohio State’s Department of Anthropology with setting her up for success as an artist and small-business owner.
18 | DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY
“The things I read about, the cultural sites I visited and the relationships I formed as a result of my education at Ohio State still inform my work as an artist today,” she said. Boiwka also cites the cognitive and language skills she gained during her studies with helping her tell her story today, as well as securing grants and funding for her projects. Her studies also provided the inspiration for her shop’s unique name. Taken from a lecture in Professor Sarah Iles Johnston’s class on witchcraft in the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, “The Wilde Hunt” (or “die Wilde Jagd”) is a myth that tells of an ethereal hunting party, and includes divinities such as Frau Holle, Hulda, Diana, Freya and Odin. The topic captured Boiwka’s interest immediately.
