Plate 1999

Irene Saito made this plate, which is here at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, from clay and glaze. I can imagine Saito in their studio, maybe a little anxious about getting it all just right. The surface of the plate has a repeated pattern with circles, squares, and little crosses in shades of green and white, creating a geometric, almost textile-like design. The colours are subtle and muted, giving it a calm and harmonious feel. You can see where the artist's hand has been, pressing and shaping the clay. I think of other artists working in repetitive patterns such as Emma Kunz. How do you find the right balance between precision and imperfection? It's about finding the human in the machine, or maybe the machine in the human! All artists are connected through time and space in a grand conversation, passing on ideas and inspiring new ones. And ultimately it's not about perfect rendering, but about the spirit you bring to it.