This spring my most personal and important article thus far was published by Craft Research Journal. You can read and download it for free here: https://doi.org/10.1386/crre_00043_1 (backup link to the article in my university repository here: https://openarchive.usn.no/usn-xmlui/handle/11250/2756610 )
I have been working on this article since January 2018, collecting data and analyzing the material slowly due to the special circumstances I found myself in.
The article is most of all a narrative, presenting my journey, and secondly it gives some take-away points to reflect upon for carvers, educators, medical professionals and others. Give it a try even though you may not be used to read scientific articles. It’s a quick read, especially if you skip right to the section “the journey begins”.
This autumn I am continuing working on two other articles drawing upon much of the same empirical data, but addressing other aspects. The new articles will be more in a “traditional” academic article style, and I look very much forward to get on working with them.
However, this little travel-log-article, named after another famous journey in Tolkien’s fictional universe, was a necessary first step, and I am very thankful for the editors in Craft Research Journal for allowing it to be published.
Abstract:
Sense of space is a core cognitive ability necessary for imagining future three-dimensional forms, rotating them mentally, as well as for abstract thinking. It is a core ability in craft activities, enabling the maker to ideate and envision their ideas. This autoethnographic narrative inquiry presents my experience of woodworking whilst a brain tumour impeded my sense of space. The narrative describes my experience of losing and regaining this ability and the actions I took to continue carving anyway. The article’s evocative narrative exemplifies how the core identity of being a carver and the carving process itself function as coping mechanisms in the face of terminal cancer. The article’s main purpose is to generate knowledge on the role of spatial skills in carving and their elusive nature. Theoretically positioned in the field of embodied cognition, the article explains how our sense of space develops in interaction with materials and our surroundings. It also suggests how future education can be changed by purposefully incorporating targeted craft practices to better support the development of a sense of space.
Marte S. Gulliksen - Researcher, Artist, Teacher 