Visceral Inquiry
American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), Vancouver, CA 2003 & other sites

Kinesthetic body experience - engaging all of the senses - is a primary research tool in the Wowhaus studio. As an extension of our work, we have developed a curriculum that explores body knowledge as it relates to the creative process.

"Fieldwork: Visceral Inquiry", a course developed by Scott Costable at the California College of the Arts, brought students to five unique ecosystems of the Bay Area - utilizing the landscape as an experiential laboratory/studio. Since then, Wowhaus has facilitated other Visceral Inquiry workshops, including a hands-on session at the 2003 Conference for the American Institute of Graphic Arts. Utilizing a wide array of locally grown organic apples, Wowhaus led designers through a hands-on session illustrating how sensory exploration can inform the creative process. Wowhaus were Keynote Speakers at the conference, a unique forum that included the physicist Fritjof Capra and environmentalist David Orr in an exploration of the power of design as it relates to contemporary culture.

Wowhaus will also present our work related to visceral inquiry when it participates in the invitational symposium "Craft and Design: Hand, Mind and the Creative Process" at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts this fall.