Creative arts therapist statement

Inspired by Clay Field Therapy (Elbrecht & Deuser, 2013; Institute for Sensorimotor Art Therapy, 2025), the Segni mossi project of Alessandro Lumare and Simona Lobefaro (Segni mossi, 2015), and the work of dancer and choreographer Vitoria Kotsalou (kalamatadancefestival, 2024), and our own experiences with creative expression, movement and clay, we were curious: what would happen if we combined clay work with dance and movement?

The intention was to create a playful, explorative group session, integrating clay with movement and dance. We hoped to facilitate a multi-sensory grounding experience, connecting the body with rhythm, balance, dance/movement – employing playfulness and curiosity. We hoped to foster the participants’ connection to self and others.

We hope that the video speaks for itself but offer the following accompanying thoughts. Each of us participated or facilitated at some stage during the day, and we share our experiences as both participants and facilitators. This was a pilot project, with a small number of participants. We thank the participants and parents of the participating children, for giving us written permission to film and share the experience, and for the privilege of working alongside them.

Karakia was shared to bless the space, the mauri of all present, and the materials being used. We expressed our gratitude for, and recognised our responsibility to and guardianship of, the natural materials we were about to use, and the environment from which they came, acknowledging our roles as kaitiaki. In this instance, the clay came from South Korea, but in future iterations we would like to source local clay to strengthen our connections to the whenua.

The clay scaffolded the dance and movement. It gave participants freedom and choice to move or to be still; the focus on being present seemed to be held by the clay. Bodies interacted with clay and each other in a way that worked in the moment. It was truly ‘process not product’.

In the children’s and the adults’ sessions, the interactions were both playful and soulful, and fuelled by curiosity. Each of the groups was responsive to the clay and engaged with it creatively. However, as facilitators of the process, we experienced subtle differences. In general, the children showed curiosity by playfully engaging in possibilities, whereas the adults displayed a curiosity that was more provocative, with a deeper sense of soul-searching and the concept of ‘what if…?’ Their creativity seemed more sensory and discerning, evoking communication at a deeper level, whereas with the children, the creativity was openly playful, accepting everything that presented itself. Imagination was exciting for the adults and the children, interwoven with both humour and a deeper visceral response. At times, the adults seemed to be testing their pre-existing knowledge and assumptions, while the children allowed their mischievousness to take the lead.

From a facilitator’s point of view, it felt that we were interacting with the children, while in the adults’ session we engaged alongside. The adults who participated were all therapists, or therapists in training, so there was the opportunity for the facilitators to acknowledge that each participant had a sense of autonomy in the deeper process. It seemed that the children connected first with themselves and the clay through playfulness, and brought this to their interaction with others. The adults found playfulness with each other, in connecting through the clay and initially they appeared more sensorially creative. While both groups investigated and ‘interrogated’ the resistance of the clay, the children seemed to do so more forcibly using their entire body weight. The adults appeared a little more restrained and mindful of unleashing the full force of their potential energy.

Quotes from participants

From adults…

“Playfully and pensively passing the clay from my hand to someone else’s hand in various ways provided opportunities to notice and explore the connections within and between self and others, grounded in the clay.”

“As I held and moulded the clay, I became wholly immersed in my body; the clay became an extension of my limbs and my senses... I let the clay lead me into a dance with the earth’s warm, playful embrace.”

“Permission to put your entire body into it. Inhibitions I usually feel in my body fell away – The clay holds all of that.”

From a parent

 “…I could see it made her feel very seen and empowered. She lit up as she talked about her process.”