Theoretically the report revolves around the British child psychologist D.W. Winnicott and his theory on transitional objects. He talks about the comforter as an object that serves as a transition between the mother’s secure embrace and the sourrounding world. The comforter functions as a step towards buildning up the child’s own internal security. The report also highlights partial reinforcement, which is a learning mechanism that can be very efficient to create a dependency and maintain a destructive behaviour for the person being exposed to the mechanism. Through my ceramic work I have investigated the relationship between the two theories. I ask: are the inherent feelings of safety and belonging things that we are born into or inherit, or are they created later through experience and cultivation? If one lacks the inherent feeling of safety does that cast them as an easier target for destructive emotional dependency? If so, can a foundation of safety and confidence be built up by the work of clay, can clay function as a comforter? In the report i discuss how, with the help of clay, I approach and explore these subjects. I go further to illustrate my therapeutic beliefs on clay, and its ability to build self esteem and confidence.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:konstfack-5432 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Sternbauer, Nathalie |
| Publisher | Konstfack, Keramik & Glas |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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