One-Day Visiting Artist Workshop: Nerikomi 

Taught by Amelia Baxter 

Dates: September 13th, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM (lunch break from 12:00 PM – 12:30 PM)

Nerikomi is a Japanese technique for building patterns directly into clay. Colored clay bodies are layered, stacked, and sliced to create designs that run all the way through the material, rather than applied to the surface. This one-day workshop introduces the process from the ground up. No prior ceramics experience is required, and all skill levels are welcome. 

We will mix and color stoneware clay, then build basic patterns using blending, layering, and stacking techniques. We will then slice, assemble, and form the patterned clay into clay tiles. Students will leave with a small collection of nerikomi tiles, along with the foundation to keep developing patterns on their own. 

This workshop is a good fit for anyone curious about color, pattern, and the structural qualities of clay.  

About Instructor

Amelia Baxter is an artist based in Richmond, Virginia. She received a Master of Fine Arts in Craft + Material Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2026. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the School of Arts and Architecture at the University of California, Los Angeles. She has been working in the mediums of sculpture, ceramics, painting, and drawing since 2015. Her current work centers on large-scale ceramic sculpture, building pattern into form through coil construction with pigmented clays. She begins a Post-Master's Teaching Fellowship at VCUarts in 2026. 

Her thesis exhibition, A Mutant Perfect, opened at the ICA at VCUarts in 2026. Earlier solo exhibitions include High Noon Chorus at Praz-Delavallade, Los Angeles, California, and Wishing Well, a collaboration with Some Clouds, a seasonal, curatorial gathering based in Los Angeles, California, focused on the temporality of exhibition and display. She has participated in several group exhibitions in Los Angeles and Richmond, including Signal Boost at Main Projects, Step & Repeat at Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, and Earth House Hold at Murmurs.