Neriage, Nerikomi, Clay Murrini; they all are similar techniques where clay is coloured with stains or oxides and then cut and re-cut into patterns and then either compressed together to form a single piece with the pattern on both sides, or the clay is laminated onto a clay backing so that it is like a veneer surface. This is then compressed and formed into shape, or as in my little expresso mugs, turned on the wheel. The Japanese have many examples of this as do Venetian bead makers. If you want to follow an expert, then look up Dorothy Fiebleman who produces stunning work.
Architectural Influence
I have always loved architecture. The way light falls though a window, the feel as you enter a room, the materials used both simple and fine. In 2004 I went to the Mali to study earth construction and to also go to the Festival in the Desert two hours drive of Timbuktu. Mali has one of the largest earth structures in the world, the great mosque at Djenne. It is a luminous structure of buttresses, strutts and internal scaffolding. It is essentially an adobe construction (clay bricks baked by the sun) which is then daubed with clay annually after the rains, which is where the internal scaffolding comes in handy. What I love so much about venacular architecture is where you see the hand of the maker; here it is so evident. Coming up close to a structure you can see the grass in the dung of the animals that is a key ingredient of the daubing, You can also see the finger marks of the mason who has daubed the clay. I find this strangely moving, similar to finding a mattress needle under the floorboards. It shows transient industry where you will never know much of the maker except what you can glean from the object left behind. Of course in Mali, they rebuild and rebuild, whether it be mosques, humble abodes or grain barns, each with clear regional differences. They express beauty in the everday and I suppose that has left a lasting impression.
