A discussion of the relationship between making and thinking through documenting a visit to a potter and ceramicist based in Goa, India. It includes making distinctions between a designerly and crafty approach to the development of artifacts

Marshall, Justin

Wallace, Jayne

Northumbria Research Link

Citation: Marshall,  Justin and Wallace, Jayne (2017) Thinking through Making. In:  Unbox Caravan  -  Field  Notes:  The  Craft  Edition.  Dundee  University,  pp.  78-84.  ISBN 9781899837760 Published by: Dundee UniversityURL:  https://issuu.com/helloqs/docs/caravanfieldnotes <https://issuu.com/helloqs/docs/caravanfieldnotes>This  version  was  downloaded  from  Northumbria  Research  Link: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/33023/Northumbria University has developed Northumbria Research Link (NRL) to enable users to access the University’s research output. Copyright ©  and moral rights for items on NRL are retained by the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners.  Single copies of full items can be reproduced,  displayed or  performed,  and given to third parties in  any format  or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided the authors, title and full bibliographic details are given, as well  as a hyperlink and/or URL to the original metadata page.  The content must  not  be changed in any way. Full  items must not be sold commercially in any format or medium without  formal  permission  of  the  copyright  holder.   The  full  policy  is  available  online: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/policies.htmlThis document may differ from the final, published version of the research and has been made available online in accordance with publisher policies. To read and/or cite from the published version of the research, please visit the publisher’s website (a subscription may be required.)UNBOX CARAVAN - FIELD NOTES TheeditionFROM GOA 2017A Publication by UnBox in partnership with Mozilla’s Open IoT StudioPublished by Visual Research Centre, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, University of Dundee. ISBN: 978_1_899837_76_0A Publication by UnBox in partnership with Mozilla’s Open IoT StudioEditing - Babitha George, Jon Rogers, Michelle Thorne and Romit RajDesign- Sukanya Deepak, Nia ThandapaniTheeditionFROM GOA 2017INTRODUCTIONThe Caravan Comes to Goa - Babitha GeorgePeople at the CaravanWhat are These Books for - Jon RogersWhy Craft for Decentralized IoT - Michelle ThorneWhy is Working on the Internet of Things Important- Jon Rogers07-22071012141623-8424253141445152647278contentsCRAFT AND IOTIntroduction - Jon RogersA Medieval Crash- Andrew PrescottBerlin Tapes, Digitally Remastered- A Conversation between Jayne Wallace, Jon Rogers and Justin MarshallWhy Craft- Justin MarshallThe Internet as a Lota- Jayne WallaceMichelle Thorne responding to Jayne Wallace’s piece on ‘The Internet as a Lota’A Conversation on Craft - Jayne Wallace interviews Vineeta & Praveen NaharLocalized Tools for Local Contexts - Justin MarshallCrafting through Making- Jayne Wallace interviews Davide GombaThinking through Making- Jayne Wallace & Justin Marshall85 -12986879494104110112118120122127130 - 153131132145155 - 157DECENTRALIZATION AND IOT Introduction- Babitha George & Romit RajFrom Gut, To Gaia: The Internet of Things and Earth Repair - John ThackaraSalvage: Essays on Decentralization - Babitha George, Romit Raj & Selvan ThandapaniPreserving a Gandhian DreamPeople from Within Bamboo A Unique Challenge from a Unique Context Lost and Found in TimeWater CrisisFarming PracticesProvocations around Decentralisation and IoT- Babitha George & Romit Raj  Challenging the Brief: Workshop with Students at NID AhmedabadPOLITICS OF IOTIntroduction- Michelle ThorneDeath and the Afterlife of Things- Vladan JolerLine of Sight- Romit RajEND NOTES78 79Thinking through makingJustin Marshall & Jayne WallaceWe visited Thomas,  a craftsperson/potter/maker/artist/ceramic designer based not far from the Quicksand Studio in Goa. His practice, although firmly rooted in clay, is multi-faceted. He plays multiple roles and has managed to evolve a practice that suits his aspirations, interests and markets. Within his eclectic home, which also serves as a studio and workshop, he is surrounded by functional tableware, studio pottery, ceramic installations, individual sculptural pieces, all mixed together alongside paintings by other artists. There was no sign of the carefully curated and manicured ‘brand’ image that so often accompanies artists, designers and craftspeople in the UK. That  was refreshing. The overall sense was of someone with an urge and ability to make.One of the many works we saw were the ceramic drums and passive speakers. These speakers, working like a traditional gramophone horn, have docks in which a mobile can be inserted so that  its internal speakers are amplified with no additional power. This may not be an entirely new concept, and there are examples of contemporary pre-existing designs produced by both individual makers and sold as products. However, Thomas’ approach and the narrative he gave us when describing the creation of these pieces provides a useful example of a particular crafty way of engaging with the material world.  2 : CRAFT & IoT80 81As Thomas explained to Jayne, he didn't set out to make ceramic speakers. He just put his phone in a bowl one day and noticed how much louder the sound from it was. He thought it would be amusing to make a weird musical instrument object for his phone to amplify the sound. He laughed a lot when showing it to us. He realised it was a 'silly' object in some ways with a peculiar anti-digital tech aesthetic. Jayne, who bought one, reflected that, “I don't think they are very beautiful objects. In fact I think they are quite an ugly object. But to me, it's about play and playfulness.” For Jayne this was a beautiful story of a craft practitioner re-inventing something through really knowing his material, living with and through his objects. His bowls are everywhere in his home,and it’s a natural place for him to put his phone, finding amusement in how much louder the phone's ring was in the bowl and seeing this as a playful opportunity. It was ‘a bit bonkers’ and not driven by a desire to innovate in a market, but about amusing himself and making something for his personal use and ending up with something that really exploits the material properties of ceramics brilliantly and is created through well established ceramic production processes, i.e. thrown and extruded forms joined together by hand.2 : CRAFT & IoTIt is about learning what materials will do and experimenting with what happens when an informed and intelligent playfulness is allowed to flourish.82 83Justin recognised that both the speakers and the drums are relatively simple in their makeup, but the variables are huge: form, dimension, clay body, fired temperature, glaze, wall thickness. All these variables play a part in the differing tone and amplification achieved. Thomas had made a wide variety of drums and speakers, changing and augmenting them, seemingly not to achieve sonic perfection, but to playfully see what would happen. We would argue that his approach to this body of work is inherently crafty, rather than designerly. He is not looking at this as a problem space in which parameters are separated out and external quantitative knowledge of acoustics is used to develop optimal solutions to transmitting sound. But he is engaging with the material and processes at hand, improvising (knowing in action), thinking through making to produce new outcomes. It is about learning what materials will do and experimenting with what happens when an informed and intelligent playfulness is allowed to flourish. He is perhaps more responsive than critically reflective in his approach to designing and making; the concept of the passive speaker was born out of a response to an acoustic phenomenon, not a reflection on a problem space and the designs were developed through responding to material and process capacities, not a systematic reflection on optimal production strategies. 2 : CRAFT & IoT84 85This could be considered as an alchemical rather that a rationalist scientific approach to materiality, developing things and gaining understanding through the characteristics exhibited by the outcomes (i.e. tonality, volume, timbre etc.). It is more about understanding the whole and less about fragmentary analysis of the parts. This may not be such a controversial or potentially disruptive assertion to the community of craft makers, but what about IoT, which has its foundations firmly rooted within techno-science?What is, or is there, an Alchemy for IoT and would it bring any benefits?Alchemical Cosmos, retrieved from http://www.hermetik-international.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Alchemical_Cosmos_Great_Work.jpg  29/4/17.SALVAGE : Exploring decentralisation3 : SALVAGE : EXPLORING DECENTRALISATION

Thinking through Making

Northumbria Research Link
Citation: Marshall, Justin and Wallace, Jayne (2017) Thinking through Making. In: Unbox Caravan - 
Field Notes: The Craft Edition. Dundee University, pp. 78-84. ISBN 9781899837760 
Published by: Dundee University
URL:  https://issuu.com/helloqs/docs/caravanfieldnotes 
<https://issuu.com/helloqs/docs/caravanfieldnotes>
This version was downloaded from Northumbria Research Link: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/33023/
Northumbria University has developed Northumbria Research Link (NRL) to enable users to access 
the University’s research output. Copyright © and moral rights for items on NRL are retained by the 
individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners.  Single copies of full items can be reproduced, 
displayed or performed, and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or 
study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided the authors, 
title and full bibliographic details are given, as well as a hyperlink and/or URL to the original metadata 
page. The content must not be changed in any way. Full items must not be sold commercially in any  
format or medium without formal permission of the copyright holder.  The full policy is available online: 
http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/pol  i cies.html  
This  document  may differ  from the  final,  published version of  the research  and has been made 
available online in accordance with publisher policies. To read and/or cite from the published version 
of the research, please visit the publisher’s website (a subscription may be required.)
                        
UNBOX CARAVAN - FIELD NOTES 
The
edition
FROM GOA 2017
A Publication by UnBox in partnership with Mozilla’s Open IoT Studio
Published by Visual Research Centre, 
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, University of Dundee. 
ISBN: 978_1_899837_76_0
A Publication by UnBox in partnership with Mozilla’s Open IoT Studio
Editing - Babitha George, Jon Rogers, Michelle Thorne and Romit Raj
Design- Sukanya Deepak, Nia Thandapani
The
edition
FROM GOA 2017
INTRODUCTION
The Caravan Comes to Goa - Babitha George
People at the Caravan
What are These Books for - Jon Rogers
Why Craft for Decentralized IoT - Michelle Thorne
Why is Working on the Internet of Things 
Important- Jon Rogers
07-22
07
10
12
14
16
23-84
24
25
31
41
44
51
52
64
72
78
contents
CRAFT AND IOT
Introduction - Jon Rogers
A Medieval Crash- Andrew Prescott
Berlin Tapes, Digitally Remastered- A 
Conversation between Jayne Wallace, Jon Rogers 
and Justin Marshall
Why Craft- Justin Marshall
The Internet as a Lota- Jayne Wallace
Michelle Thorne responding to Jayne Wallace’s 
piece on ‘The Internet as a Lota’
A Conversation on Craft - Jayne Wallace 
interviews Vineeta & Praveen Nahar
Localized Tools for Local Contexts 
- Justin Marshall
Crafting through Making- Jayne Wallace 
interviews Davide Gomba
Thinking through Making- Jayne Wallace & Justin 
Marshall
85 -129
86
87
94
94
104
110
112
118
120
122
127
130 - 153
131
132
145
155 - 157
DECENTRALIZATION AND IOT 
Introduction- Babitha George & Romit Raj
From Gut, To Gaia: The Internet of Things and 
Earth Repair - John Thackara
Salvage: Essays on Decentralization - Babitha 
George, Romit Raj & Selvan Thandapani
Preserving a Gandhian Dream
People from Within Bamboo 
A Unique Challenge from a Unique 
Context 
Lost and Found in Time
Water Crisis
Farming Practices
Provocations around Decentralisation and IoT- 
Babitha George & Romit Raj  
Challenging the Brief: Workshop with Students at 
NID Ahmedabad
POLITICS OF IOT
Introduction- Michelle Thorne
Death and the Afterlife of Things- Vladan Joler
Line of Sight- Romit Raj
END NOTES
78 79
Thinking through making
Justin Marshall & Jayne Wallace
We visited Thomas,  a craftsperson/potter/maker/artist/ceramic designer based not 
far from the Quicksand Studio in Goa. His practice, although firmly rooted in clay, is 
multi-faceted. He plays multiple roles and has managed to evolve a practice that suits 
his aspirations, interests and markets. Within his eclectic home, which also serves 
as a studio and workshop, he is surrounded by functional tableware, studio pottery, 
ceramic installations, individual sculptural pieces, all mixed together alongside 
paintings by other artists. There was no sign of the carefully curated and manicured 
‘brand’ image that so often accompanies artists, designers and craftspeople in the UK. 
That  was refreshing. The overall sense was of someone with an urge and ability to 
make.
One of the many works we saw were the ceramic drums and passive speakers. These 
speakers, working like a traditional gramophone horn, have docks in which a mobile 
can be inserted so that  its internal speakers are amplified with no additional power. 
This may not be an entirely new concept, and there are examples of contemporary pre-
existing designs produced by both individual makers and sold as products. However, 
Thomas’ approach and the narrative he gave us when describing the creation of 
these pieces provides a useful example of a particular crafty way of engaging with the 
material world.  
2 : CRAFT & IoT
80 81
As Thomas explained to Jayne, he didn't set out to make ceramic speakers. He just put 
his phone in a bowl one day and noticed how much louder the sound from it was. He 
thought it would be amusing to make a weird musical instrument object for his phone 
to amplify the sound. He laughed a lot when showing it to us. He realised it was a 'silly' 
object in some ways with a peculiar anti-digital tech aesthetic. 
Jayne, who bought one, reflected that, “I don't think they are very beautiful objects. In 
fact I think they are quite an ugly object. But to me, it's about play and playfulness.” 
For Jayne this was a beautiful story of a craft practitioner re-inventing something 
through really knowing his material, living with and through his objects. His bowls 
are everywhere in his home,and it’s a natural place for him to put his phone, finding 
amusement in how much louder the phone's ring was in the bowl and seeing this as 
a playful opportunity. It was ‘a bit bonkers’ and not driven by a desire to innovate in a 
market, but about amusing himself and making something for his personal use and 
ending up with something that really exploits the material properties of ceramics 
brilliantly and is created through well established ceramic production processes, i.e. 
thrown and extruded forms joined together by hand.
2 : CRAFT & IoT
It is about learning what materials will do and 
experimenting with what happens when an 
informed and intelligent playfulness is allowed to 
flourish.
82 83
Justin recognised that both the speakers and the drums are relatively simple in their 
makeup, but the variables are huge: form, dimension, clay body, fired temperature, 
glaze, wall thickness. All these variables play a part in the differing tone and 
amplification achieved. Thomas had made a wide variety of drums and speakers, 
changing and augmenting them, seemingly not to achieve sonic perfection, but to 
playfully see what would happen. 
We would argue that his approach to this body of work is inherently crafty, rather 
than designerly. He is not looking at this as a problem space in which parameters are 
separated out and external quantitative knowledge of acoustics is used to develop 
optimal solutions to transmitting sound. But he is engaging with the material and 
processes at hand, improvising (knowing in action), thinking through making to 
produce new outcomes. It is about learning what materials will do and experimenting 
with what happens when an informed and intelligent playfulness is allowed to flourish. 
He is perhaps more responsive than critically reflective in his approach to designing 
and making; the concept of the passive speaker was born out of a response to an 
acoustic phenomenon, not a reflection on a problem space and the designs were 
developed through responding to material and process capacities, not a systematic 
reflection on optimal production strategies. 
2 : CRAFT & IoT
84 85
This could be considered as an alchemical rather that a rationalist scientific 
approach to materiality, developing things and gaining understanding through the 
characteristics exhibited by the outcomes (i.e. tonality, volume, timbre etc.). It is more 
about understanding the whole and less about fragmentary analysis of the parts. This 
may not be such a controversial or potentially disruptive assertion to the community 
of craft makers, but what about IoT, which has its foundations firmly rooted within 
techno-science?
What is, or is there, an Alchemy for IoT and would it bring any benefits?
Alchemical Cosmos, retrieved from http://www.hermetik-international.com/wp-content/
uploads/2015/09/Alchemical_Cosmos_Great_Work.jpg  
29/4/17.
SALVAGE : 
Exploring decentralisation
3 : SALVAGE : EXPLORING DECENTRALISATION


http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/33023/1/IoTCraft_Caravan_017.pdf

Thinking through Making

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