EmbodyCraft

Reflection plays a crucial role in advancing craftsmanship. Much craft knowledge remains tacit and cannot be easily conveyed through language, leaving post-action reflection largely dependent on personal recollection. While existing methods like video-recorded performance visualization support craft practitioners' reflection, they often fail to capture the subtle bodily actions and perceptions central to craft practice. To address this gap, we collaborated with experienced potters from Ikutouen, a pottery studio in Okinawa, to develop EmbodyCraft. This system records muscle activity and fingertip vibrations during clay interaction, translating these into tactile stimuli for post-action reflection. In two workshops with potters of varying experience levels, we found that supplementing conventional video-based reflection with our haptic cues helped reveal subtle force patterns and correct misconceptions about both one's own and others' actions. These preliminary results suggest potential for deeper skill understanding during reflection and more nuanced communication in skill-based discussions.

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