By creative Agents Cecilie Haaland and Ralston & Bau

The trace of the hand, tangible in handicrafts, signs of the relation between the material and the gesture. The time someone spend making an object by hand has in it self a built in empathic quality that can be lost in the industrialised production of objects.

Cecilie Haaland, a ceramic artist and receiver of the norwegian national artist work fund, was the invited Agent to design, in collaboration with Ralston & Bau, a series of objects intended for the empathic home.

Cecilie was interested in challenging the dividing line between art, artisan and designed objects. Her artisan pottery expertise with porcelain know-how and Ralston & Bau industrial design approach to shaping objects met in the collaboration.

In the first co-creative week session the research from Empathic Home and findings from the encounters and work to create the local B&B network was shared. The Agents identified a meaningful track to develop further a line of domestic objects materialising empathic qualities and values. Specific zones within the “home” were selected as points in need of helpful tools to guide visitors and make them feel welcomed. It was decided to keep focus on the entrance and bathroom areas.

In the second week the Agents created a series of objects in the concept of “Empaths”. Several porcelain objects where sketched and shaped in 3D principle models in paper and clay.

The materialised empathic object Pathic concept is resumed within this definition: “The Pathic is an empathic being surrounding us with one purpose: make our life easier. It is simple-minded, handle one task at a time and come to you when you need it, attracted by your needs. It is the Empath”.