Ceramic pebbles as sensory tools: exploring the quality of muteness in tactile experience

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the tactile experience from two different perspectives: through ceramic practice and as ceramic sensory tools in the context of psychotherapy. In order to gain insights into the tactile experiences, we use subjective experience of making and the professional experience of using the ceramic objects to frame the experiences. We focus on the shared qualities of tactile experiences within these approaches and propose the idea of muteness as a lens to view pre-verbal or non-verbal embodied dimensions within the context of our practices. The dialogue in this paper is between two different practitioners: an artist-researcher and a psychotherapist. We discuss the possibilities of a mute process in ceramic practice for embodied awareness and the use of this particular quality for engaging bodily in self-reflection within psychotherapy. The psychotherapeutic frameworks in this discussion are limited to cognitive behavioural psychotherapy, particularly schema therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), solution focused therapy and narrative therapy. Our findings suggest that the perceived muteness of the sensory tools enables discussion and explorative dialogue concerning the embodied dimension in tactile experiences providing access to a place of pre-verbal being and knowing.