Material Connections in Craft Making: The case of felting

Abstract

This study examined a creative practice, namely felting, to explore the daily practices and encounters of felt makers. The study aimed at understanding the material connections of felt-making that are not limited to the making process. To examine how practices of felt makers emerge in connection to materials, we employed the material engagement theory as our perspective. The data was collected through interviews with eight felt makers and participant observation at two studios in Turkey. The analysis revealed how felt makers think between things, people, space and time and develop their practices accordingly. These findings illuminated a holistic and insightful understanding of the material's role in shaping the practice and field. A more holistic and insightful approach can also propose being open to constantly renewing creative practices and recognising how its material connections affect other things and people.

A Review of Immersive Technologies, Knowledge Representation, and AI for Human-Centered Digital Experiences

“…In [159], crafting processes are modeled to have schemas or plans, and their execution is modeled as individual events. Studies on the negotiation between the maker and the material have provided interesting data regarding how makers think between things, people, space, and time and develop their practices accordingly [160].…”

Material-led creative processes in the context of design education

“…This means that material engagement requires attention and awareness through interaction with one's surroundings and that knowledge comes from direct material engagement with the world (Ingold 2013). Making thus becomes a shared process between humans and non-humans (Aktaş and Mäkelä 2019;Malafouris 2008;Ingold 2013).…”