Nerikomi is a Japanese pottery technique that involves combining layers of colored clay to produce distinct patterns. Jessica Rust, having immersed herself in the world of Nerikomi for five years, presents the Limn collection. Featuring lighting, a drink table, and vases all built by hand, this collection considers craft synonymous with high art.
Limn Vase – Tall
The Limn Vase, available in short, tall, or fat, explores the unique color variations that are produced through the Nerikomi process. Alike to threads in a loom, the natural variations and thicknesses of the clay produce striations in color, blown brilliantly into their final color in the kiln. These vases, no two alike and taking weeks to complete, celebrate the organic nature of humane creation.
Limn Vase – Fat
Limn Triangle Lamp
Lighting also central to the collection, the Limn Triangle Lamp makes a bold statement with the longer slabbed Nerikomi work on the bottom, descending into smaller slabs as we travel up the piece. Nerikomi is famously prone to cracking, a necessary hazard of the delicate technique. At such a large scale, these works are as much an object of beauty as well as the artist’s mastery of the material.
Limn Triangle Lamp
Hand-made Nerikomi Table Lamp
Bolder, and even bigger, the Hand-made Nerikomi Table Lamp comes in two colorways, a black and a cobalt blue. The bases are speckled with a multitude of colors, a symphony of color translating elegantly to the graphic shades. Brilliant hues create high contrast, a delight for the eye and a celebration of the time and effort that goes into Nerikomi work.
Hand-made Nerikomi Table Lamp
Limn Drink Table
Graphic planes filled with rich pattern are central to the Limn collection. The Limn Drink Table, a favorite of Rust’s, is tall, vibrant, and circular, blending angular vertices with rounded solidity. “I started playing with triangles and found myself completely obsessed with pushing this basic shape into new territory,” shares the artist. “When I combined that with my take on Nerikomi, something unexpected and exciting emerged. Each piece has patterns that flow through the entire form – it’s not just surface decoration, it’s part of the DNA.”
Limn Drink Table
Limn Drink Table
Jessica Rust, of Rust Designs, is unafraid to embrace the meditative, allowing the organic nature of the clay to speak for itself. Layer upon later create solid structures, fascinating expressions in porcelain that are delightful in their deviation from the norm. Reflection and observation are central to her work, slow and deliberate. In a drop ship world, this is a handwrought gift – a purposeful resistance to urgency.
Limn Drink Table
To learn more about the Limn collection by Jessica Rust, please visit rustdesigns.com.
Photography courtesy of Jessica Rust.
