Haptics , the Secret Senses ; the covert nature of the haptic senses in creative tacit skills

A group of renowned highly skilled artists were interviewed with regard to day-to-day sensory engagement. Their observations are discussed together with the part played by the senses in skilled manual processes, particularly those that include a significant creative element. Their personal evaluation of the relative importance of these various senses in specific processes is presented and tabulated and the results are analysed with regard to the interaction of vision and the haptic senses. It is concluded that despite initial convictions that vision plays the dominant role, as it may do in subsequent art appreciation, in making such work, much of the significant perceptual information is dealt with pre-consciously via the haptic senses, with vision performing a role as monitor of process progress.