LEFTY
Hey Lefties and pottery teaching-types, i'm doing a little research,
How do you as a lefty, or as someone who is teaching a lefty, [teach to] throw:
-Counterclockwise or clockwise?
-If Counerclockwise, what side of the wheel are you throwing on left or right?
-If Clockwise, " " " " " " " " " " " " ?
Thank you very much for your participation.
How do you as a lefty, or as someone who is teaching a lefty, [teach to] throw:
-Counterclockwise or clockwise?
-If Counerclockwise, what side of the wheel are you throwing on left or right?
-If Clockwise, " " " " " " " " " " " " ?
Thank you very much for your participation.
I'm a lefty! But I throw like one of those so called righties. I throw with the wheel going counter clockwise and pull at 4 o'clock. I hold all of the ribs or sponges in my right hand, too. But I hold the trimming tool in my left hand, but I still hold it over on the right side. It works fine...I learned the right handed way from the beginning, and my teacher always told me I was holding the trimming tool wrong, but it works. Will Baker actually does about the same,he's a lefty too, but he stops his wheel and reverses it to trim going clockwise and trims at 8 o'clock. (not actually 8 o'clock, but you get what I mean!)This only works if you always know you're going to have a reversible wheel. I figure it's best to learn one way and stick with it.
ReplyDeleteI've taught people the right handed way despite them or myself being a lefty and most often it is fine. A lot of lefties are ambidextrous... Joy
there's so much about you Joy that I never knew.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the input!
I have one lefty student who was giving it a great try throwing the 'righty' way but getting pretty frustrated, so I let him reverse the wheel and his whole world changed. He throws with it going clockwise and on the opposite side of the wheel (throwing toward 7 o'clock).
ReplyDeleteTrimming, I taught him to trim at the middle (6 o'clock) and it seems to work well for him.
Another lefty student tried it the way I throw and seems to have no problems - the trimming seems to be the bigger challenge, but trimming in the middle seems to help.
I'm left handed but throw like the rightys, I was taught that way. I tried throwing with the wheel going clockwise, but couldn't center. I trim like Joy, trimming tool in my left hand doing some contortionist moves but it works for me. My wheel goes in reverse and I used to switch it to trim, but got lazy. I haven't been able to teach wheel throwing to anyone because I have to adjust my brain for myself and have some pretty bad habits that others shouldn't learn!
ReplyDeleteah the left handed question... It's good to be a lefty when one's students have the left handed persecution complex... Throwing, after all, is an ambidextrous activity and the left handed issue is a wonderful introduction to that fact. I trim with my right hand, in traditional counterclock style. I hold all tools,while throwing, in my right hand. The only time I switch to my dominant left is when I'm altering pots right on the wheelhead,with a paddle/ piece of wood immediately after throwing.
ReplyDeleteBecca Floyd
Hey Becca! How are you! :)
ReplyDeleteYou're out there, too! I'm hoping maybe I'll see you around these parts for your show opening during our TRAC tour?
I'd love to see you during the trac tour, Joy! Hope you are doing well.
ReplyDeleteI'm a righty but I throw clockwise at 9 o'clock with my right hand inside the pot. In grad school they told me to teach the beginners counter clockwise, so now I can throw either way. But clockwise is more natural.
ReplyDeleteI've taught myself to throw in the clockwise direction in case a student needs it, but surprisingly I don't find that lefties have an easier time witht he wheel reversed, except for trimming. And some righties do better clockwise. Counterclockwise, i pull at the 4 o'clock position; clockwise I pull at eight o'clock.
ReplyDelete