How it began to get serious - My Journey Through Clay and Colour

Nerikomi is the Art of coloured clay, and for me, nerikomi feels like home, that place that makes me feel I belong. Even after years of exploring other materials, other clays, and far too many glazes, I keep circling back to patterned clay and they way I think I can or could draw with it. It’s where the clay seems to speak to me it its own quiet language, and where I rediscover the joy that made me fall in love with ceramics in the first place.

This is my story of how I found nerikomi, how I wandered away from it, just for a while.

Where my journey through clay began - Terracotta, Earthenware, and the First Bowls

Like so often in life, I stmy journey started with what was available to me: earthenware and terracotta. I wasn't keen on the glazes that the studio offered, so I thought I just use the clay. I didn’t realise then how lucky I was that the two clays had almost identical shrinkage rates. Which is a small but rather important detail because if your clays does not shrink at the same rate, your pieces will crack when they dry or in the firing. They might still do but one has much better chances.

I really loved the contrast between the warm orange-brown terracotta and the white eartenware. I made mugs, vases, and especially large bowls which show off the pattern that goes through the clay. I gave many of the pieces away, and one even went to my boss as a leaving present. I remember feeling so proud when he send me a thank you letter saying that he and his wife really like it.

What drew me to patterned clay in those early days nerikomi was its simplicity. I didn’t have to think about glazing. No fuss with underglazes and no surprises in the kiln. A simple transparent glaze was all it needed. The clay did the work. The pattern was already there.

When Earthenware Stopped Being Enough

As much as I loved those early pieces, earthenware eventually began to frustrate me. It’s a beautiful material, but it isn’t vitrified, which means it remains slightly porous even after firing. Most pieces were decorative, but the few plates and mugs i used, began to harbour bacteria and developed a smell. I guess I learned the hard way; functional ware should feel and smell clean. I also wanted my pieces to be practical. Who has time to wash things by hand? It wanted it all to go into the dishwasher.

Nerikomi mug (white earthenware and terracotta)

The studio I was working in at the time only offered earthenware. If I wanted to work differently, I would have to make a change. Which is where all this started, more or less on my dining table.

Stoneware

Once I had the freedom to choose my materials, I moved to high‑fire white stoneware and began mixing it with black clays. Technically, it worked beautifully. The clay was strong, vitrified, and reliable. That said, something was missing.

Terracotta had given me a warm, earthy contrast, the stoneware was different, much less vibrant. I like it, but I don't love it. So I kept searching.

Porcelain

My next step was porcelain, and a book called "Ton, Farbkoerper und mehr..." both have changed my work a lot.

Porcelain has a clarity that no other clay can match. It’s crisp, and very white (or black :-)). When I began mixing my own coloured porcelain, I felt that spark again, the one I’d been missing since terracotta. The stark white gave me the contrast I’d been craving, and when the black comes in ... oh wow!

Porcelain also taught me patience. It’s silky and responsive, but it demands attention. It doesn’t let you rush. It likes to be worked quickly and dried slowly.

Neriage

In 2021, I bough my own wheel and began experimenting with neriage, the wheel‑thrown version of patterned clay. If nerikomi is wild, neriage is even wilder. On the wheel, the patterns stretch, spiral, and shift under your hands, and you dont know how it might turn out until you clean it up and wire it off.

At this point i do want to mention that I never sand my work, everything is done at the wet stage dust is my enemy and no dust is good dust.

The Glaze Detour

Just when I thought I knew where I was headed, life handed me a detour.

A dear friend gave me three glaze recipes as a leaving present. It was a layering technique and all three glazes are applied to a piece in sequence to create this beautiful blue with brown and purple. When it worked, it was stunning. The problem was… it didn’t work reliably. Some firings were magical, others were disasters, and I couldn’t work out which of the three glazes was causing the trouble. Yet I feel like the custodian of this glaze, and I cannot give up!

I fell headfirst into glaze testing: mixing, adjusting, firing, recording, tweaking, and starting again. What began as curiosity became a full‑blown obsession. Over the years, I developed four solid base recipes, and from those I can now mix around sixty glazes that behave beautifully (when the kiln behaves :-)).

But that original three‑layer combination? The one that started it all? She’s still a challenge, especially when materials become suddenly unavailable or I am just too "bish bash bosh". Patience, Nadine! Its all over this. So, over the past 7 years, glazes stole the spotlight. But nerikomi is still here with me, whilst I chase the alchemy of melting glass and minerals.Which is what I will be telling you more about in my next post.