Ensuring a learning environment that is inclusive, safe and promoting well-being is one of the priorities identified by the partners of the CARE project. Specifically, through the creation of ceramic workshops, partners will involve young visually impaired people in new immersive and interactive learning experiences.
However, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that carrying out ceramic workshops with visually impaired young people also involves potential risks, linked to safety, which must be anticipated and avoided as much as possible.
In the following paragraphs we will analyze the various types of risks in order to help teachers prevent them as best as possible during ceramic workshops.
We will also explore how to make sure that a ceramic workshop is as inclusive as possible, focusing on how spaces are managed to ensure accessibility to young visually impaired people joining ceramic workshops.
Safety in ceramics workshop
Ceramics is a fascinating art that offers multiple opportunities for creativity and artistic expression. However, when working with clay, kilns, and tools, safety must be the main priority, especially in a workshop involving visually impaired people. This first part of the text will focus on the importance of safety measures in inclusive pottery workshops, where each step is adapted to ensure a safe and accessible environment for all V.I students.
⇒ How to guarantee safe and accessible environments for all V.I students?
The crucial first step in ensuring safety in a ceramics workshop for visually impaired and visually impaired students is to create a safe and accessible environment. This means removing physical obstacles from the workspace, ensuring that pathways are well-defined and free of hazardous objects, and making sure that all equipment and tools are organized in a systematic way.
Work surfaces should be tactually distinguishable, and the use of color contrast can help visually impaired students locate tools and objects more easily. In addition, it is essential that students receive adequate training in how to orient themselves in space in order to move around safely during the lab.
⇒ What kind of tools and equipment are the best ones for V.I students involved in ceramic workshops?
In the ceramics workshop for visually impaired and visually impaired students, it is critical to provide adapted tools and equipment to ensure that everyone can participate in the activities safely and effectively. For example, shaping tools and pottery wheels can be marked with raised labels or tactile codes to help students easily identify them.
In addition, some students may require tools with larger or smaller handles for better grip or feel. Adapting tools can ensure that everyone can participate meaningfully without compromising safety or quality of work.
⇒ How to ensure that everyone is correctly informed about all potential risks?
In addition to providing a safe environment and adapted equipment, specific training for visually impaired and visually impaired students is critical to safety. Students should be instructed on how to properly use the tools, ovens, and other equipment in the lab. In addition, they should be aware of safety procedures, such as the proper use of personal protective equipment (such as gloves or masks) and the safe handling of chemicals used in the ceramics process. The lab teacher or supervisor should be well prepared to meet the specific needs of students with visual impairments by providing clear and detailed explanations, including through nonverbal language and the use of tactile descriptions.
⇒ How to prevent and mitigate the effects linked to hazard situations during ceramic workshops with V.I learners?
Every ceramic laboratory should undergo a risk assessment to identify and mitigate potential hazardous situations. This process is especially important in an inclusive environment, where the needs of participants can vary significantly.
Risk control should include identification of potential trip or fall situations, proper storage and use of materials and chemicals, and adequate ventilation of the kiln area to prevent exposure to noxious fumes.
Accessibility of the spaces in ceramic workshops
When setting up ceramic workshops, it is necessary to adopt some preventive measures and tricks that can facilitate the stay of visually impaired students within the workshops. In this regard, the environmental conditions of spaces and their accessibility and setting should be strongly ensured (beyond the safety and risk prevention conditions already described in paragraph 5.1).
How to create accessible ceramic workshops? How to structure the spaces, how to guarantee the right design and arrangement of the spaces?
Find here below some useful instructions:
- Place labels with high-contrast fonts on classroom furniture and surfaces can help students identify them more easily. Labels should be placed strategically, such as on the front of desks or the back of chairs.
- Create a tactile map of the classroom with reliefs representing furniture, desks, doors, and other features of the This tactile map will enable students to gain a clearer understanding of the classroom layout and make it easier for them to navigate.
- Use color contrasts between walls, furniture, and floors can make objects more distinct and clearly identifiable to visually impaired students.
Provide tactile guides, such as tape strips or lanyards. These guides should be strategically placed to help students navigate the classroom. For example, they can mark safe routes and specific areas of the classroom.
Lighting design of a ceramic workshops for V.I learners
When considering a suitable environment for a visually impaired student, lighting plays a key role. Several characteristics of natural and artificial light sources should be evaluated, as well as the position and angle of the work surface and the arrangement of materials within the classroom.
The main objective is to ensure adequate light, without being excessive, where necessary, avoiding glare and properly distributing light in the different areas involved. For work involving close-up viewing, proper lighting is essential. Ideally, you should have a more focused light source above the work surface, along with more diffuse light to create an evenly lit environment.
Good lighting near the work to be done is just as important as lighting between rooms or from one point in the same room to another. After working up close in bright, focused light, it may be difficult to adjust quickly to an area with a lower lighting level, as the eyes need time to get used to a new light level.
In addition, it is important to consider the effects of natural lighting during the day, since it can affect both the amount of light present inside a room, as we will see later, and movement outside.
Therefore, proper management of lighting, both natural and artificial, is vital to creating an environment suitable for the learning and well-being of visually impaired children, considering their specific visual needs.
What are the benefits of ensuring daylight when carrying out ceramic workshops with V.I learners?
Daylight is a valuable source of illumination that is often underutilized. To make the most of it, certain tricks should be taken, such as using light curtains that allow light to pass through and keeping windowpanes clean and transparent. The arrangement of furniture is also crucial: it is important to position it so that it does not obstruct the flow of light from windows and minimizes reflections in the work area. One solution may be to let the light come from behind the shoulders. Table or floor lamps should be placed considering the suggestions previously given regarding the arrangement of furniture. If the lamps are fixed, such as ceiling or wall lamps, it is advisable to think of an alternative location that allows some mobility, especially when the days get shorter, and the amount of natural light will be reduced.
Care should also be taken with the placement of lamps near televisions or screens, as it may cause direct reflections to the eyes and a decrease in contrast and screen visibility. The overall level of lighting in the room depends not only on the lamps used, but also on the colors of the furniture, walls, ceiling, and floor. The colors chosen to affect the amount of light reflected within the room. Light colors such as light gray, cream, soft yellow, and white are highly reflective and can reflect up to 75 percent of the light hitting surfaces of such colors. Therefore, it is preferable to use light colors for walls and ceiling in order to increase the reflection of light within the space and enhance the contrast with furniture and furnishings.
However, one should be aware that a completely white room may cause disturbing reflections for some people with visual impairments. To further facilitate the orientation of people with low vision, one might suggest the use of a frieze or frieze at the top of the wall, at ceiling level, to facilitate the perception of the shape and size of the room.
Accessibility of the materials in ceramic workshops
Working in a ceramics laboratory requires special preparation, especially if you work with visually impaired people. This special preparation is due to two reasons.
First, it is important to remember that the life experiences of sighted and visually impaired people are very different. People who have not experienced a disability of one of the senses, or a mobility impairment are sometimes unable to imagine the different needs of people with different abilities and limitations due to their disabilities. This is not an accusation against trainers working with visually impaired people, but the result of life experience and habits that sometimes we simply don’t think about. How can an able-bodied person know how much force it takes to open a door while sitting in a wheelchair if he or she has never experienced it? How can one know the range in physical space in which to lift an object from a wheelchair-bound position? How can one know how to roll out clay when you can’t see?
That’s why sometimes working with people with disabilities can be a new and surprising experience for the able-bodied. After all, we don’t usually have to think about how to describe the sky or colors. In contrast, the CARE project workshop is a situation where we should be aware from the beginning that there are people who have not seen the same things as sighted people. They may not have seen the different shades of the sky, they may not see the colors of flowers. Their experiences are an opportunity for sighted people to broaden their own horizons of thinking but require special thought and preparation.
The second argument for proper preparation for ceramic work with visually impaired people is the need to provide them with safe and comfortable working conditions. You need to remember that you need to prepare such working conditions that will meet the needs of the participants of our workshops but also allow us to have full control over the entire process of creative work with clay. This means that the trainer should be focused on the messages from the participants (do not rush, you need to allow enough time to help the participants and constant, valuable communication) and must be constantly present in the course of the ceramic workshop (do not leave the room in which we implement the workshop). In practice, this means that the trainer must be fully prepared for each training cycle, because during the workshop there will be no more time to bring additional teaching aids or equipment that we may need for ceramic work.
In addition, before implementing a ceramic workshop, let’s ensure that all the following points have been met.
You have prepared all the necessary materials for ceramic work: clay, pads, tools necessary for working with clay such as rollers, objects for imprinting patterns, sandpaper, etc.
You have prepared articles to ensure hygiene and safety of work such as paper towels or hand wipes, a place where you can wash your hands, dressing materials in case of cuts, aprons and gloves to ensure clean work,
You have prepared the exact scenario of the class and all the necessary accessories for its implementation, for example: if you use plants for decorating ceramics, you must have them prepared before the class, it will not be possible to collect them during the workshop, if you use recordings for the implementation of the class, have them prepared in advance,
You have properly prepared the studio space for the implementation of classes,
You have properly scheduled time to implement the work with clay.
Accessibility of the materials: specific handling of the clay
When working with clay, we need to take into account the time required for the next steps of the workshop. We begin our work with wet clay. However, we need to remember that clay dries very quickly, and the drier it is, the more difficult it is to form. Therefore, it is necessary to properly protect the material that we want to use at the next workshop. It is best to wrap the left clay over after the workshop tightly in foil. We must leave the work that our participants will do to dry completely. How much time this will take depends on two factors: the size of our products and the humidity of the air. Small reliefs will dry faster than large sculptures. The drying process will also be shorter when we work in sunny weather. In rainy weather, the time allotted for this stage will be longer. We need to plan for about 2 weeks for the drying of our participants’ creations. The dried artwork should then be polished. Each participant should do this independently, using sandpaper. It is up to the artist to decide what the texture of the sculpture should be. Sanding does not take a lot of time but also requires planning. The sanded products require firing. Firing is a difficult and dangerous process. It also requires specialized equipment (ceramic kiln). This task is best entrusted to professionals – that is, professional ceramists working in their studios. The process of burining in a ceramic studio takes from 24 to 36 hours, but it is worth planning a minimum of 3-4 days for this. It also takes time to bring and collect the fired works. Depending on our plans, the next step in working with clay will be glazing. This is a stage that does not require much time. Glazing involves painting the works with glaze, which is in the form of water-based paint. But the glazed works of art need to be fired once again. That’s why it’s worth remembering to plan a series of workshops with an adequate supply of the time needed to complete them.
Organization of the clay working space is a key thing. First, it is necessary to establish such an arrangement of furniture, equipment and work areas that will ensure freedom of movement and safety for visually impaired people. There are some rules that we know are of great importance in working with the visually impaired. First and foremost, as few stairs, floor paragraphs, and obstacles on circulation routes as possible. Cramped rooms make work difficult. All necessary accessories, tools and materials should be within reach of participants. But the most important rule of space organization is – once established the principle of space organization must be constant and unchangeable. Once established, convenient ways of arranging furniture and materials should be reproduced at each subsequent meeting. The space should not be reorganized at the next class, because the visually impaired participants will have to learn the rules of movement in the workplace on the fly. This is very important.
If you want to see if your idea of organizing the space is the right one, do this exercise: blindfold yourself and try to slowly walk through the workshop room, sit at the table and perform the basic steps of working with clay i.e.: reach for the clay, roller and clay working tools. If you succeed, your participants will do better because they have their own unique life experience. It’s also a good idea to consult with your participants about the principles of organizing the space. Ask for their opinions and agree together whether something is worth changing. Perhaps everyone wants to have their own set of tools necessary for working with clay, perhaps they want to sit in different places. It’s a good idea to talk about everything in the first class and keep these rules until the end of the course.
And finally. Think of your participants all the time. If you reach for a tool – put it back in the place you agreed on together. If you move a chair – put it away in such a way that it doesn’t create an obstacle on the passageways. Remember that your participants may not notice a chair that suddenly appears in a new place than was planned.
Inclusiveness and personal growth during ceramic workshops with V.I learners
When implementing workshops with the visually impaired, we must be patient, open to other participants’ needs, and follow the principle – time and speed of task completion are not important, good communication and mutual understanding are more important. The ceramic workshops are programmed in such a way as to strengthen the psychological, social, manual and professional competencies of the participants, and creative activities with clay are the background for each of the prepared thematic blocks. Working with clay is also intended to serve as a means of mutual understanding, personal development, pride in one’s own achievements in ceramic art, and a source of pleasure. Clay has different faces, at first it is wet, then it is smooth or decorated with a pattern, after drying it is hard and rough, after firing it is strong and rough, after glazing it is smooth and cool to the touch. These are all sensory impressions worth talking about in order to experience them consciously. In addition, such conversations and sharing of impressions create a better and better atmosphere for cooperation. The longer you work together, the more the atmosphere of understanding and sincerity will deepen. The physical relationships between the participants and the trainer are very important here. Make efforts to develop them, so that workshop participants have confidence in you and each other and pay attention to the principles of mutual respect. Empowering our training tasks with psychological engagement mechanisms will allow us to achieve the goals of our project.
The most important task of the teacher is to achieve the stated goal of the class. For this to happen it is necessary:
Good substantive and organizational preparation of the trainer (setting the objectives and scenario of the class, proper organization of the workspace and space),
Proper, patient and effective communication with participants, and care for clear transmission of instructions, planned tasks and work rules.
Effective communication is a universal principle in the work of a trainer, but it is always worth reminding of some of its principles. In the CARE project we would like to pay special attention to these four rules:
It is worth conducting at the first meeting the so-called “conclusion of the contract” of the communication rules and cooperation, note them down and refer to the mutually agreed It is up to the participants to determine what is important to them and what they do not want to experience. Perhaps these rules will be surprising to sighted people. It is important that the group, together with the trainer, agrees to the binding “contract” in the course of the class and takes care to implement it.
The trainer should communicate work instructions and training objectives clearly, and make sure everyone understands the task properly every time.
It’s worth prioritizing the time spent listening to each other and caring about proper communication in favor of knowledge transfer tasks or creative work. It is advisable not to rush. It is worth caring about the comfort of each participant, rather than implementing a planned lesson Sometimes you have to give up something in order for the primary task to be accomplished effectively. It is worth being flexible.
In communication, the principle of openness, empathy and recognition of different points of view should be observed. In creative work, every solution is good, there are no right answers.