Since 2012, ceramist Debora Ciolli and Dr. Rita Vatteroni have been collaborating in holding Creative Ceramics Courses "Creating with the Soul" and Natur Sphaera meetings with people with cancer problems, their family members/caregivers and health personnel, supported from time to time by the "Sempre Donna" Association of Piombino-Cecina, the Livorno Foundation, the S.CU. D.O of San Vincenzo and the Municipality of Piombino. 

All activities take place in the open natural setting on the sea between Piombino and Elba Island of the potter's workshop....and this is already a first "therapy" of well-being! 

After the various experiences, the "Natur Sphaera" Project was born in 2021 from the encounter between an original project of ceramist Debora Ciolli, who combines the ancient art of ceramics and the principles of ecology and respect for the environment, and the psychotherapeutic approach of "narrative" by people involved with the experience of illness (sick people, family members,  caregiver and health workers) in order to facilitate the expression of meaning and significance, including emotional meaning, in relation to the themes that emerge during the manipulation of clay and also related to the ceramic technique used .  

The center of a sphere is transformed into a container for a new plant, dispensing oxygen and important to our lives, only to melt and dissolve and leave it free to grow and dispense its gifts, to remain as a symbol for us, others and future generations. 

The contact and "manipulation" of clays of different types leads to the acquisition of the awareness that the person represents the 5th element integrated with the 4 fundamental elements-Air Water Earth Fire.  

Together, each meeting, explores and accompanies people, with the psychotherapist, through the issues that have emerged during their journey of and with the disease ( initial stage of diagnosis, therapies and the stage of resolution, follow-ups, relapses etc.....) and for this reason the technique is dedicated to people with oncological problems and their family members/caregivers.

“What I have gained from these meetings is a sense of sharing...I often forget that I have crossed this road...because I have come out of it and, I hope, therefore, to share the enthusiasm and hope with those who have to cross it in this moment!" 

Health workers can share emotional experiences, support and activate their resources, resilience, increase awareness of issues around sick people and their family members/caregivers, explore relational and organizational team dynamics, and prevent distress and burn-out.

The atmosphere created promotes a fluid, sincere and emotionally engaging dialogue among all participants, also facilitated by the psychotherapist. 

Ceramist Debora Ciolli says : " it amazes me every time how working of clay and decorating of ceramics succeeds in creating an atmosphere of quiet intimacy between people who do not know each other and who are sharing a hard and difficult experience such as cancer illness."

The technique is very simple and does not require any particular effort or movements that people who have recently undergone surgery, or who are undergoing therapy, cannot perform (unless otherwise indicated by the referring doctor, physiatrist, physiotherapist, etc.) nor any particular skill to the participants, except curiosity and the desire to play with an ancient and ductile material such as clay, to release their creativity, express themselves, and get involved. 

The overall goal of these meetings is to increase the awareness of the sick person with cancer problems and the family member/caregiver about one's own experience, particularly emotional, through the use of language and manipulation of matter, to recover the harmony that the disease has destabilized; the experience in its entirety also has a reducing effect on the distress and to facilitate the feeling of perceived well-being. 

"....could describe this course as: relaxing, liberating and constructive in terms of positivity." 

For health care workers, the goal is to provide a space to be able to express, outside the work context and its roles, in an informal and reassuring environment, the emotional-relational component of their activity, with its merits and difficulties, to experience a new language of communication with people affected by the disease, to discover and enhance their resources, and to improve their ability to relax with pleasant and creative activities. 

All people say they feel enriched, sometimes amazed by their finally expressed ability, by the ease of sharing, by feeling welcomed in a "warm" and nonjudgmental environment, all wanting to repeat the experience...once is not enough!  

"Looking forward to the next meeting with enthusiasm, eagerness to do, tell, listen and share with serenity and joy....only denotes the fact that you had a good time. I am ready to do it again!"