Miasa Exhibit
By Mike Evans
The Mendocino Sister Cities Association(MSCA) and the Mendocino Art Center (MAC), aredelighted to present an art exhibit by artists from
Mendocino’s sister city, Miasa-Omachi in Nagano
Prefecture in Japan. The history of the association
between the Art Center and the Sister City
Association is a long one dating back to 1980 when
Art Center founder Bill Zacha and artist Toshi
Yoshida formalized the sister city relationshipbetween Mendocino and Miasa. Toshi had visited
Bill in 1971 to teach printmaking at MAC and when
he returned to Japan he was determined to create a
Mendocino-style Art Center. He eventually foundhis site in the small village of Miasa. One of Bill andToshi's intentions was to initiate and continue art
exchanges between the sister cities.
In 1992 Miasa and Mendocino started annual
youth exchanges that have continued through thepresent day (the Miasa group will visit this year May

Artist: Hirotoshi Itoh23-28), but the art exchanges never really materialized. With this show, running May 1 through May
31, to coincide with the Miasa youth exchange visit,
our plan is to inaugurate annual art exhibitexchanges coinciding with each town’s visit to the68

Artist: Kazuma Nagaii

other’s town. In early July of 2009 the MSCA will
return to Miasa with a group of Mendocino Middle
School students and during that same two week
period an art exhibit is being planned in MiasaOmachi for participating Mendocino artists.
Most of the artists from Miasa who are participating in this inaugural exhibit are presented below.
Several of the artists will arrive in Mendocino on
May 8 to attend the opening in the Abramson
Gallery on May 10. They each present a unique styleof their particular craft and we hope you will join us
in commemorating this event by attending theSecond Saturday Gala Opening on Saturday, May10, from 5 to 8 pm. There will be live demonstrations by a couple of the Miasa Artists on selecteddays yet to be announced.
Kazuma Nagaii, 51, from Miasa, is a silversmith,making jewelry from rough silver using a techniquethat used to be commonplace but is now largely forgotten. It is not casting exactly, but giving shape tothe rough silver itself. His work is very time-consuming and because of this, very expensive. His
work is considered very unique and is prized by collectors.
Sculptor Hirotoshi Itoh, 49, lives inMatsumoto. The humor of his work always comes

Artist: Kazuma Nagaii

Artist: Masami Yoshikawa

Artist: Akiko Sumida

through. Seeing his sculptures and objects, people can’t help
but smile. Among the Miasa artists, his style and the high levelof technique he uses define the essence of being an artist. He
has gained considerable recognition in the United States.
Masami Yoshikawa, 59, lives also in Omachi City. He is awoodcarver. Originally from Kobe, he started out as a luremaker. After moving to Omachi City, he "discovered" the beauty of nature, and began to carve different small animals, adapting the style of the lures he made before.
Mitsuhiro Hanazuka, 38, is from Omachi. His lovely small
objects give warmth and bring people back to the feeling of
their own childhood. All of his handwork is based on the same
concept; sticking together different types of wood in a carefully planned way, then turning everything into lovely creatures,
small buildings, boxes and other display items.
Akiko Sumida, 50, lives in Matsumoto. She is a weaver, butalso does handspinning and dyeing. Using hemp, cotton andsilk, her work has a simple, natural style. Time is woven into
her pieces. She makes "kasuri" (splashed kimono textiles).
Tokio Oda, 52, a cabinetmaker, lives in Miasa. His styleconsists of pure, elegantly cleared shapes, concentrating on thenatural beauty of the surface of perfectly planed wood. In somecases, though, breaking this routine, he gives some movement
to the surface. His objective with his work is to give somepeaceful place to sit down and comtemplate the perfection ofthe natural materials.
Keiko Takei is a well-known calligraphy artist who lives inOmachi City. The Mendocino Art Center was recently therecipient of a beautiful calligraphy gift from her entitled “TorchLight” or “The Light from the Flame.” Ms. Takei will do a calligraphy demonstration for MAC guests.

Artist: Hirotoshi Itoh69