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Vera, A. (2026). From matter to method: Situated and relational approaches through geothermal clays. In L. Simeone, C. M. Gray, A. Verhoeven, A. de Götzen, Y. Bakırlıoğlu, H. Zohar, M. Stead & P. Buwert (Eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

Abstract

Working with natural materials can open space for exploratory forms of inquiry. This paper examines how nature influences our approaches to artistic practice and research. Through the frameworks of introspective methodologies and posthumanism, this study examines a case of Icelandic geothermal clays to reflect on possible methodological approaches within artistic research. The author’s ceramic practice serves to trace the processes of developing artworks with natural materials. The acts of collecting, testing, and designing with geothermal clays become both a creative and an epistemic endeavour, a way of thinking with and through materials. Artistic practice emerges as a form of inquiry responsive to the environment. Situated and relational methods, in this context, arise through immersion in a material assemblage, where making is guided by responsiveness and openness to uncertainty. The study contributes to discussions on methods in craft research, suggesting that situated, materially grounded approaches foster relational forms of making.