I've been intrigued by marbled, mixed and layered effects using colored clays, nearly as long as I've been doing ceramics (let's say since High School). Nerikomi means "to mix by pulling up" (throwing), and Neriage means "to mix by pressing" (layering). There are other names from other lands, like agateware, millefiori, zougan, but the simple idea is to take clays of two or more different colors, and rather than blend them completely, swirl or mix them into layers. I've had some nice results, mostly small pieces, but I fear I have much more to learn in order to really get success. Experienced studio potters still report a 30-40% failure rate in their nerikomi work, so I am content to do my experiments and not expect too much. Combining colored clay into layers offers nearly infinite possibilities, so of course I want to try them all.