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Inspired by the Japanese tradition of daruma dolls, these Altadena-crafted beauties come in an assortment of cozy colors, with their smooshed, hand-crafted faces seemingly cheering us on.

Like Saben’s handprints in the concrete patio outside the studio, Hsiao’s own wildly creative imprint is clear in the whimsical vessels that line the shelves of the former two-car garage: from long-beaked toucan pitchers and owl juicers to Japanese daruma wishing dolls and Venus of Willendorf lady tiki cups.

Hsiao’s ceramics are sweet and quirky — tiki cups, Japanese daruma wishing dolls, tiny creatures and bird pitchers and creamers.

But as delightful as many of those pieces are, as paintings, none quite has the self-propelled perfection of Hakuin’s “Giant Daruma.”

That one contains nothing but what’s necessary to communicate the ideas in question — in this case the conventional attributes of Daruma, which are long ears, broad forehead, an expression of profound concentration bordering on anger, and a beard.