Creative thinking workshop

2016-2018｜ Ceramics ｜ Various sizes

In Germany, sheltered workshops provide employment and educational opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. The sheltered workshops train participants for person-centered services such as customer service (e.g. catering, laundry), manual labor (e.g. packaging, disassembly), and the manufacture and sale of a variety of products. The offerings for such work are extensive, nevertheless, there might be less opportunity for participants to express their creativity and associated individuality in these predominantly routine activities.

Therefore, I conceptualize the workshop to generate ideas, reflect on results, ask questions, and develop solutions. Here, it is more important to reveal to the participants the expressions of their creativity and to teach their critical thinking than to give direct instructions on how to perform a single task.

The workshop is divided into two sections: Development and implementation of ideas. The manufacturing steps of the ceramic objects are not prescribed. The participants and I decided this together through numerous experiments. 

Selected processes are on display in the exhibition. I present the individual development steps chronologically to make them comprehensible for the viewers. At the beginning of the presentation are the ceramic objects from the rehearsals on the theme "Variations and getting to know the material".