SAIDEIKA

Illustrated is a rather simple and unadorned saideika clay style mizusashi by Yachimata, Chiba resident; Misaki Mitsukuni (b.1951) which is a masters course in the complexity of simplicity. Misaki was originally influenced to make ceramics after an encounter with noted scholar and potter Koyama Fujio in 1972 and was further influenced by the works of Mark Rothko in terms of surface and interplay between the graceful form and surface. This particular hand built mizusashi is nothing but curves, an organic presence that reminds me of full, fat adzuki beans with a subtle and complex palette created by layering liquid clay to create an elegant and contemplative journey. Misaki won Kikuchi Biennial Grand prize 2013 for this style work which seems a marriage of some alien organic life together with a unconscious episode of "happening" that should resonate with even the most ardent vessel traditionalist.