Ceramic Experimentation - Nerikomi

 Nerikomi is a ceramic technique from Japan that involves building up layers of coloured clay and cutting across to reveal a pattern inside - it's comparable to the process of making novelty rock candy which you get by the seaside.

This article is by a ceramicist who talks us through the stages the process:

https://ceramicartsnetwork.org/daily/article/Creating-Nerikomi-Blocks-Decorating-with-Colored-Clay-Patterns

I wanted to try Nerikomi to make geometric forms inspired by diatoms, so I began by dying porcelain with different coloured stains. I used 50g of liquid porcelain and 4g of colour since the recommended percentage is 8%, and I had to stir it really well then pour it onto plaster which draws out the moisture so that it becomes more clay-like and manipulatable. I tested a range of colours so that I could later choose my favourites. 

The actual process of making a pattern within the clay was really hard and it warped a lot the more I tried to stretch it out into a longer piece, it was also hard getting air bubbles out and I think the clay was slightly too dry so it would crack when I tried rolling flat pieces into a spiral. 

For the pieces on the right, I rolled up some yellow and pink into a spiral which I molded into a square shape, then I cut that into four and pushed them back together making a repeat pattern, then continued stretching it out into a long piece which I sliced across with a scalpel. They're not too bad for a first attempt but they're much messier than I would have liked and they aren't cut very cleanly.

For the checkerboard pattern I stacked two blue and two black pieces, compacted it together and elongated it until I could cut it into four, then put them together again to increase the pattern. I'm a lot happier with how they turned out because when I cut it  open the squareness of the pattern was still there and it was a lot less distorted than my first samples.

Here's how they looked after firing; the colours are powdery and soft - they also shrunk a lot. Glazing them brought back the intense colour and gave them a smooth finish.

The six round pieces were to test how each colour would look after glazing and I think the only one I don't like is the green.

The next image shows how these four pieces were put together into a repeat pattern and it also gives an idea of how distorted the pattern can get the more it is worked. In this case I kind of like how the shapes went wiggly, it reminds me of tie-dye and has a fun energy.