Rita Seiko Payne grew up on a little farm and fell in love with the natural beauty and resources she encountered. She wished to capture the crispness of fall, the delicacy of spring, and the abundance of summer and take those things with her. Through the process of slip casting, she was able to preserve every detail of the forms she found exciting, often temporary objects. After graduating from the Pratt Institute, Rita moved back to Upstate New York to start Beiko Ceramics.