Thinking of clay with the body: multimodal metaphoric thought in a pottery workshop

Abstract

Conceptual metaphors (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980; 1999) shape the conceptualization of one type of experience, generally abstract or difficult to understand (target-domain), in terms of another, usually more basic or simple (source-domain). Multimodal metaphors (Forceville, 2006) emerge from the correlation between a source-domain, which expresses its content in one modality, and a target-domain, in another modality. In this study, part of the project named Pensar las Artes con el Cuerpo (SPI, UPC), we identified and analyzed the schematic thoughts (Mahler, 2023) mapped to the processes carried out by producers of art, crafts and design in the situated context of a pottery workshop. The most outstanding multimodal metaphors are THE PIECE OF POTTERY IS THE TEACHER and THE CLAY IS THE BODY, which articulate the explanations and guidelines. These are followed by THE TEMPERATURE IS VERTICALITY, THE PIECE OF POTTERY IS THE HAND or THE FIST, TOUCHING IS TURNING, THE HANDS ARE TOOLS, KNOWING IS SEEING and THE HEAD IS A CONTAINER, among others. Metaphorical thinking emerges spontaneously and dynamically in the prompts, practice and concept construal, serving different purposes especially dedicated to the construction and circulation of meanings relevant to the specific context of the workshop.