Make Yourself At Home

The materials of home are something to hold onto in times of uncertainty. Our possessions are there for us in their arrangement and in their constancy. These may be heirlooms passed down from generation to generation, souvenirs which act as portals to treasured memories, or functional items whose use confers a sense of familiarity and domesticity. Their durability situates the past in the present, providing 'ontological security' (Olsen, 2010), while their display is an act of curation and material story-telling. This presentation is a co-production of the disciplines of art therapy and ceramics meeting in their object relations. At a time when our existence is becoming increasingly virtual, the home studio, or the home-as-studio, is a place where we increasingly find ourselves. The materiality of homecoming is our collections that live with us in their proximity, significance and commemorative potential. This interdisciplinary conversation will place the materials of our lives centre stage and argue that how we live with what we possess is integral to our comfort security and creativity (Miller, 2008).