Colored Clay Arts: Nerikomi, Neriaga, and Mokume Gane

It has been suggested that I post pictures of the process I use to create nerikomi and mokume gane. I do not have a project started yet but will begin one this week. In all honesty, to show you my process, I really need to organize my workspace first. So it is a win-win.

I will begin today with an explanation of what nerikomi and mokume gane are.

I read today that the terms nerikomi and neriage, which are often used interchangeably, do have very different meanings. Both use the root word, neri, which means to mix. Age means to pull up, and komi means to press down.

So when I use a mixture of colored clay on the wheel and pull up the sides, it is Neriage. In England, and often in the US, this process is called agateware. I will likely use both terms.

I often throw with colored clay. For bowls, I use slightly marbled clay for the entire piece. However, because coloring clay is expensive, for smaller vases where the interior is not readily visible, I will use a white base clay and layer a colored mixture on the exterior of the ball of clay before forming the piece.

I also frequently create blocks of clay, in which a design is embedded. These blocks are then sliced and placed strategically on a surface, carefully pressed together, and, using extreme caution to not stretch the design, the slab is lifted and molded into the shape. This process, because it is pressed down, is called nerikomi. This is the most time-consuming and precise of the three methods.

A third technique I use is mokume gane. This is typically a term associated with the layering of metals. This technique is also used for polymer clay arts. Interestingly, even though I know it is used in ceramic arts, I can not find many references other than polymer clay. In all honesty, I have only done one piece of mokume gane. I rolled out a thin slab of each of five different colors and layered them together. I then rolled the multicolored slab. When I had the proper thickness, I carved into the surface to expose the colored layers, added some highlights, and then used this layered, carved slab to create a serving tray. Once the tray was partially dried, I beveled the edges to expose more layering. I will likely use this method for the first pictorial overview of the process.

What should I make? A tray, a bowl, mugs, jewelry?