#75 Block Print Vessel Ceramic Bowls The shinogi—a traditional Japanese decorative

The shinogi—a traditional Japanese decorative technique—are carved carefully by hand into the surface of the piece

Corin Mellor

it will surely hold its own against all the messy hands in your household

visible only as a wide rim above the outer form

#75 Block Print Vessel Ceramic Bowls The shinogi—a traditional Japanese decorativeAkio Nukagas work explores the possibilities of how he leaves a trace of himself in clay. In this piece, he stamps patterns into the soft, wet clay before it is fireda nod to Japanese techniques called inamun and mishimade. The form of the vesselinspired by ancient earthenwareappears textured and soft after stamping. After the first firing and before the second, he finishes the vessel by applying different colored slips (liquid clay)a technique that