Kimiyo Mishima's work is about trash and the Japanese postwar economic growth. She initially focused on collages, then taught herself to transfer print to clay. I learned about her on a book called Listening to Clay by Alice North et al. Here is a quote I really enjoyed:
If you had the time, money and the energy to make anything you wanted, what would it be? - Time and money are absolutely necessary, but I have been going without one or the other for so long that I am not even able to think about "what-ifs". Energy alone I do have plenty of. My back is becoming more and more bent and there is no way to correct it. I damaged my vertebrae by lifting heavy things. It's painful, but when I work, I forget the pain. My work is helping me to live. I work about until midnight every day, starting about seven thirty or eight in the morning. I can do only half of what I could when I was younger, but I really enjoy the work. I am always conscious of the time I am working in. I would be happy if my work would enable people to sense the current moment we are living in, along with a little bit of humor.
