There are many ways to quantify knowledge and its acquisition. Empiricism is the study of knowledge arising from the senses; how we learn about the world through our sensorial encounters. This is a study of the process of throwing, its nature, origin, sensorial mapping and how it can be seen to reflect more widely the experience of being human. What follows is an auto-ethnographic study of my experience of throwing and, at the same time, how this relationship between hand and material can inform my understanding of other related interactions in the world.
A pot thrown on the wheel and then altered contains a wealth of knowledge that not only contributes to understanding a ceramic technique but also defines new ways of looking/being. Through the activity of throwing, I transition through a sequence of tactile encounters that find correlation with the study of yoga – both a series of movements within a semi-conscious state leading to a particular mindset. This is my ethos in approaching both activities, the movement of one thing turning into another. In ceramics, I complete the vessels by using ash glaze to enhance this sense of becoming, the firing capturing points of change, imbuing them with the intensity of roaring flames.
This essay explores the nature of transferable acts within creativity, how we can be moved from one state of being to another, through sensorial engagement. Taking the acts of throwing, yoga, and playing the Sitar (a stringed Indian musical instrument), I will explore how the tensions and connections between modes of practice can enable us to better ‘see’ this knowledge at work and how one iteration can learn from the other in a multimodal dance of aligned activities.
Introduction
‘The hands want to see; the eyes want to caress.’ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Pallasmaa, J. 2012, p 17).
As I sit to write this essay, my hand poised to carry ideas, my memory goes back to the long hours spent in the throwing room. I prefer a tall throwing wheel – as against the one with low height – so that I can use the required pressure from my body. The room is well ventilated and well-lit; I can feel the
