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lefties

updated fri 26 apr 02

 

Mel Jacobson on fri 25 jul 97

to play on a theme. veronica,
one of the most interesting left handed teaching ideas i have ever seen in
practice....charles pearce the fine calligrapher will not let left handed
students use their left hand...he puts the pen in their right . he
maintains that the act of writing with a slant, pen angle etc. is so
strange that the right hand will adapt. and he is correct. it works most
of the time. my wife has tried it with calligraphers that have a left
hand hook.....and it has worked for her (she is a calligrapher and teacher).
my major complaint about teaching beginnners is with all things...bad
habits have to be unlearned and that is very hard to do...
if all students in a class learn the same way, with a teacher directed
style, and that is counter clock wise, the lefties will just do it
naturally...after that, one can throw both ways...we all do from time to
time....

i am convinced that many lefties are just allowed to fiddle on their own
in classes all over the country because the teacher thinks there is a
difference for them....there is not!
it would be as if we do not want girls to work the pug mill or carry clay
because they are "different", would we hear a scream about that one?
anyway they can never get the shimpos back on counter after they have been
shifted to clock. (many of you that teach know that one)
mel.mn.

Sandra Dwiggins on sat 26 jul 97

Years ago I used to play the violin. This instrument is really for
left-handed people, since all the fine fingering is done with the left hand.
The bowing, which takes some skill, but not as much, is done with the
right hand. I'm sure there are some left-handed violin players, but all the
right-handed ones had to learn to do the fancy digit-stuff with their
left-hand and they do well. It's like learning a new skill, rather than
undoing an old one. I'm thinking that learning to throw in any direction
should be approached the same way---even upside down! Didn't
someone come up with that a while back on this list?
Sandy

George Mackie on sun 27 jul 97

Sandra- I dont agree about the violins being for lefties. The finger
action is strictly mechanical, except for vibrato. It is the right
hand that produces the sound. Those fellows in Cremona knew what they were
doing. Similarly with potting, the left hand makes a bulge and the
right hand pulls it up so it is ultimately the right hand that
creates the form. George

On Sat, 26 Jul 1997, Sandra Dwiggins wrote:

> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Years ago I used to play the violin. This instrument is really for
> left-handed people, since all the fine fingering is done with the left hand.
> The bowing, which takes some skill, but not as much, is done with the
> right hand. I'm sure there are some left-handed violin players, but all the
> right-handed ones had to learn to do the fancy digit-stuff with their
> left-hand and they do well. It's like learning a new skill, rather than
> undoing an old one. I'm thinking that learning to throw in any direction
> should be approached the same way---even upside down! Didn't
> someone come up with that a while back on this list?
> Sandy
>

CDANIELLE on mon 28 jul 97

George Mackie wrote:
> .....the left hand makes a bulge and the
> right hand pulls it up so it is ultimately the right hand that
> creates the form. George

True, but the right hand is only following the left hand up. At least
that's how I do it.

A lefty,
Gabe Thomas
cdanielle@prodigy.net

Evan Dresel on wed 30 jul 97

Have to disagree with Mel on this one. There's plenty of evidence that
forcing left handed children to act right handed can cause all sorts of
problems. Maybe doing caligraphy is so different, and maybe you really
can't mimic right-handed caligraphy using your left hand, but personally I
would rather come up with a lettering style that suits my handedness or do
something else. Probably there are lots of two handed activities that
different people (right and left handed) have different abilities to perform
that I don't think you should generalize as to what everyone should be able
to do. I've seen some right handed students so frustrated that they
probably should have tried reversing the wheel -- it couldn't have been any
worse. My mother probably could have taught me to tie my shoes right handed
but it sure went easier when someone gave her the hint to sit facing me when
she showed my how. Ok, bad example... I'm forty-one years old and my shoes
still don't stay tied... I guess I'm just so happy that I found out pottery
was something I could do ok that I hate to think how easy it would have been
for to fail because someone decided that everything had to be done the same
way by everyone. What it comes down to for me is to build on my strengths;
try to compensate for weaknesses; practice sure, but if it I use some
awkward looking grip to trim a foot, big deal -- I like the results.

-- Evan in hot smoky W. Richland WA.


At 11:20 AM 7-25-97 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>to play on a theme. veronica,
>one of the most interesting left handed teaching ideas i have ever seen in
>practice....charles pearce the fine calligrapher will not let left handed
>students use their left hand...he puts the pen in their right . he
>maintains that the act of writing with a slant, pen angle etc. is so
>strange that the right hand will adapt. and he is correct. it works most
>of the time. my wife has tried it with calligraphers that have a left
>hand hook.....and it has worked for her (she is a calligrapher and teacher).
>my major complaint about teaching beginnners is with all things...bad
>habits have to be unlearned and that is very hard to do...
>if all students in a class learn the same way, with a teacher directed
>style, and that is counter clock wise, the lefties will just do it
>naturally...after that, one can throw both ways...we all do from time to
>time....
>
>i am convinced that many lefties are just allowed to fiddle on their own
>in classes all over the country because the teacher thinks there is a
>difference for them....there is not!
>it would be as if we do not want girls to work the pug mill or carry clay
>because they are "different", would we hear a scream about that one?
>anyway they can never get the shimpos back on counter after they have been
>shifted to clock. (many of you that teach know that one)
>mel.mn.
>
>

Marcia Selsor on thu 31 jul 97

Evan Dresel wrote:

> ----------------------------Original
> message----------------------------
> Have to disagree with Mel on this one. There's plenty of evidence
> that
> forcing left handed children to act right handed can cause all sorts
> of
> problems. Maybe doing caligraphy is so different, and maybe you
> really

(snip)As a leftie I never use a fountain pen for the same reason that
DaVinci wrote backwards in a mirror. If one writes from left to right
using the left hand, the ink smears. Calligraphy would be the same.
I still contend that lefties concentrate on the invisible core INSIDE
the pot when throwing. Does anyone know if Margarite Wildehein was a
leftie?
Really, throwing requires two strong hands.
Marcia in Montana

Marcia Selsor
http://www.imt.net/~mjbmls/
mjbmls@imt.net

David Hendley on fri 1 aug 97

I've found that fully half of my potter friends and acquaintences (myself
included) are left handed, a far, far greater percentage than the general
population. No one I know throws "backwards", they learned with the
available equipment, just as I learned to play a "right handed" guitar and
cut with "right handed" sissors.
Has anyone else found this high percentage of lefties among potters?
sdrager tseB
yeldneH divaD
saxeT ,elledyaM

John Koren on sat 2 aug 97

Hi,

I am another left handed potter. I have assisted a couple of schools
and I have noticed the begginning left hand students sometimes have a
difficult time adjusting to the wheel going the wrong direction,some do
not. I rewired a couple of wheels and some of the students just felt
more comfortable with the clock wise rotation. They work began to
progress and they were less frustrated.
I can't see what the problem is, as most motors can be reversed by
changing a couple of wires in the motor. A reversing switch can be
purchased at most hardware stores for about $8.00 and are also easy to
install. If you have a problem with electric an electrician friend
could walk you through the process.
Why struggle, If it doesn't feel comfortable try the other way.

John

Craig Clark on sun 21 apr 02


If folks are gettin their hackles up over this one I guess I CAN TO! I'm
not a lefty but I attempted to "learn" how to throw left handed so that I
could "teach" a student of mine who was left handed how to throw.
It was a DISASTER. Ended up trying to figure out what hand went where
for the next week. Cross circuited myself I did. The lefty was greatly
amused. Amid sputtering fits of laughter, as the clay from the cylinder that
I was attempting to throw to teach the importance of balance and control
went flying across the room and foul epithets dating back to my Navy days
came spewing forth from me, the lefty in question told me that it might be
better if I taught him right handed. I did and he now throws right handed.
To my knowledge, it one of the only things that he does right handed.
Maybe throwing is more of a whole body thing rather than a right or left
one.
Craig Dunn Clark
619 East 11 1/2 st
Houston, Texas 77008
(713)861-2083
mudman@hal-pc.org

----- Original Message -----
From: "mel jacobson"
To:
Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 12:13 PM
Subject: lefties


> here it comes again.
>
> potters are two handed...not left or right.
>
> DO NOT CHANGE THE DIRECTION
> OF THE WHEEL FOR LEFTIES.
> LET THEM THROW NORMALLY.
> hush don h. in oregon.
> we do not want to hear from you..
> but, we like you a great deal....but.
> I AM A LEFTY...AND ALL MY LEFT STUDENTS
> THANK ME FOR NOT CHANGING THEM.
> MELVIN LEE LEFTIE,LEFTY.
> and, who the hell is `mojo`?...thought that it was joyce's dog.
> From:
> Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
> web site: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.

mel jacobson on sun 21 apr 02


here it comes again.

potters are two handed...not left or right.

DO NOT CHANGE THE DIRECTION
OF THE WHEEL FOR LEFTIES.
LET THEM THROW NORMALLY.
hush don h. in oregon.
we do not want to hear from you..
but, we like you a great deal....but.
I AM A LEFTY...AND ALL MY LEFT STUDENTS
THANK ME FOR NOT CHANGING THEM.
MELVIN LEE LEFTIE,LEFTY.
and, who the hell is `mojo`?...thought that it was joyce's dog.
From:
Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
web site: http://www.pclink.com/melpots

Ian Walruth on sun 21 apr 02


I'm one of Don H.'s lefty students and I throw "
normally"... that is I throw with the wheel.

The wheel is just a tool... if I need the wheel to
turn counter-clockwise I turn that way... If I need it
turning clockwise then I switch it. Some things work
better in one direction while others wirk best the
other.

I don't think it matters which wa the wheel turns, as
long as it works for you.


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Nancy Silver on sun 21 apr 02


Misty (working Potter) said:
"I have a Creative Industries model HP wheel that we need to change
direction for a lefty "
I may not have any experience teaching but pottery uses both hands =
equally. It is one of many areas where lefties are done a diservice by =
being encouraged to change everything around. I see guitarists who =
change the strings on their guitars despite the fact that both hands =
require dexterity in playing. They are then handicapped by being unable =
to play someone else's guitar if their's is not available. The best =
example: violinists. No one would allow a student to restring their =
violin because they would never be able to play with a symphony. And =
there are plenty of lefthanded violinists, but they all play with the =
violin strung and held the same. As my violin teacher says: =
'left-handed players work harder to perfect their bowing and =
right-handed players work harder on their fingering that's all"
There's a huge difference between helping lefties accomodate and =
limiting their work environment.
Nancy S in Cinci

John Hesselberth on sun 21 apr 02


on 4/21/02 1:13 PM, mel jacobson at melpots@PCLINK.COM wrote:

> DO NOT CHANGE THE DIRECTION
> OF THE WHEEL FOR LEFTIES.
> LET THEM THROW NORMALLY.
> hush don h. in oregon.

Since I am not don h. in oregon, I can and will reply. Before you
arbitrarily follow Mel's command, put a lefty on a kick wheel and see if
they can kick it counter-clockwise. If they can't then have them learn to
throw clockwise. I, for one, am so left-handed/footed I could not possibly
kick counter-clockwise--I'd surely break an ankle if I tried. I am certainly
glad some arbitrary teacher didn't try to force me to learn to throw that
way. If they had I would be unable to easily switch back and forth from
kick wheel to electric wheel.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with learning to thrown clockwise (except
that is upsets some right-handers I suppose). The Japanese seem to handle
it quite well thank you and reversing switches only cost a few dollars.

John
A clockwise thrower and glad of it.

Web sites: http://www.masteringglazes.com and http://www.frogpondpottery.com
Email: john@frogpondpottery.com

"The life so short, the craft so long to learn." Chaucer's translation of
Hippocrates, 5th cent. B.C.

Mark A. Dyer on sun 21 apr 02


I have a CI wheel and to change mine I unplug the motor from the switch
plug turn one end over half a turn and plug them back together. Make
sure to disconnect from the power before you start and that you plug it
back in to use it
Good luck
Mark


Mark and Tim and the Gang at
Diamond Springs Boxer Rescue
http:diamondspringsboxerrescue.org
http://www.pbase.com/markdyer

iandol on mon 22 apr 02


Sarah joins me on Fridays for a while as a student.
First session last week. Question came up about left handedness.
She was on a Venco wheel, counter clockwise direction. Told her this =
gave the natural orientation for a left handed person since it is the =
hand inside the pot which controls most of the action. This is why Right =
Handies have such a lot of trouble with ccwise rotation of clay. Always =
told the lh Kids, when they said it would be harder to learn for them, =
that for the first time in their lives they had a positive advantage.
I learned from Bob Mason on a Leach treddley. Clockwise rotation. =
Natural for a Right Handie. Ambidextrous now. Throw on either side =
regardless of direction of rotation. Bet Mel can do the same.
Regards,
Ivor.

Burns Christina on mon 22 apr 02


This lefty thing has me remember back to my childhood. When Grandma B. had
to teach a lefty to crochet she would get out a mirror. The student would
watch the mirror and see how to crochet from their perspective. Should work
with wheel throwing also.

L. Christina Burns
Ottawa University
Student Development Office
1001 S Cedar, #2
Ottawa, KS 66067
burnsc@ottawa.edu


-----Original Message-----
From: Craig Clark [mailto:mudman@HAL-PC.ORG]
Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 9:05 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: lefties

If folks are gettin their hackles up over this one I guess I CAN TO! I'm
not a lefty but I attempted to "learn" how to throw left handed so that I
could "teach" a student of mine who was left handed how to throw.
It was a DISASTER. Ended up trying to figure out what hand went where
for the next week. Cross circuited myself I did. The lefty was greatly
amused. Amid sputtering fits of laughter, as the clay from the cylinder that
I was attempting to throw to teach the importance of balance and control
went flying across the room and foul epithets dating back to my Navy days
came spewing forth from me, the lefty in question told me that it might be
better if I taught him right handed. I did and he now throws right handed.
To my knowledge, it one of the only things that he does right handed.
Maybe throwing is more of a whole body thing rather than a right or left
one.
Craig Dunn Clark
619 East 11 1/2 st
Houston, Texas 77008
(713)861-2083
mudman@hal-pc.org

----- Original Message -----
From: "mel jacobson"
To:
Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 12:13 PM
Subject: lefties


> here it comes again.
>
> potters are two handed...not left or right.
>
> DO NOT CHANGE THE DIRECTION
> OF THE WHEEL FOR LEFTIES.
> LET THEM THROW NORMALLY.
> hush don h. in oregon.
> we do not want to hear from you..
> but, we like you a great deal....but.
> I AM A LEFTY...AND ALL MY LEFT STUDENTS
> THANK ME FOR NOT CHANGING THEM.
> MELVIN LEE LEFTIE,LEFTY.
> and, who the hell is `mojo`?...thought that it was joyce's dog.
> From:
> Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
> web site: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.

____________________________________________________________________________
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org

You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/

Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.

Lee Love on mon 22 apr 02


My Japanese mother was born left-handed, as I was. But her father would
hit
her hand with a ruler any time he saw her trying to use her left hand.
Needless to say, my mother didn't do the same with me. Being a lefty was
a
great advantage when I played basketball and tennis.

When I asked Mark Pharis which way I should learn to throw, he said,
"It
really doesn't matter. But all my demos will be right-handed." Because
of
him saying this and also because I knew that the Japanese threw with their
dominant hand on the inside, I decided to learn counter-clockwise. Yes,
they
currently turn the kickwheel clockwise in Japan (Hamada says the korean
kickwheel was originally kicked counter-clockwise.) This works well
because
the korean kickwheels are predominantly pulled with a bare foot, instead of
being kicked with a shoed foot (pulled with the right foot.) You can also
kick
with the opposite foot. Because I throw counter-clockwise, I pull with my
dominant left foot and kick with my right foot. This type of exercise is
great for keeping the legs from cramping and also to keep your back from
hurting. My back is much better than when I used to throw on the electric
wheel.

Lee in Mashiko
._____________________________________________
| Lee Love ^/(o\| Practice before theory.
|
| Ikiru@kami.com |\o)/v - Sotetsu Yanagi - |
`~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'

Rick Hugel on mon 22 apr 02


Very funny story! But why does this "lefty" throwing thing keep coming up?
I thought everyone had gotten past the "left handed" thing. I teach
students who wedge clay with the left hand. I show them how I do it with
my right hand and tell them to practice -- so they practice with their
left hand. Some of my students throw with their left hand, some with their
right hand. I only show them what they should be aiming for and let them
do it their way. They'll get it. Just give them time. Who cares which
hand you wedge or throw with just so long as the pots come out well. If
you think that you may someday have left handed students, buy a wheel with
a switch that can reverse directions. I don't know if it's that easy to
get them in the U.S. though, but here in Japan all wheels are built that
way.


> If folks are gettin their hackles up over this one I guess I CAN TO!
I'm
>not a lefty but I attempted to "learn" how to throw left handed so that I
>could "teach" a student of mine who was left handed how to throw.
> It was a DISASTER. Ended up trying to figure out what hand went where
>for the next week. Cross circuited myself I did. The lefty was greatly
>amused. Amid sputtering fits of laughter, as the clay from the cylinder
that
>I was attempting to throw to teach the importance of balance and control
>went flying across the room and foul epithets dating back to my Navy days
>came spewing forth from me, the lefty in question told me that it might be
>better if I taught him right handed. I did and he now throws right handed.
>To my knowledge, it one of the only things that he does right handed.
> Maybe throwing is more of a whole body thing rather than a right or
left
>one.
>Craig Dunn Clark
>619 East 11 1/2 st
>Houston, Texas 77008
>(713)861-2083
>mudman@hal-pc.org
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "mel jacobson"
>To:
>Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 12:13 PM
>Subject: lefties
>
>
>> here it comes again.
>>
>> potters are two handed...not left or right.
>>
>> DO NOT CHANGE THE DIRECTION
>> OF THE WHEEL FOR LEFTIES.
>> LET THEM THROW NORMALLY.
>> hush don h. in oregon.
>> we do not want to hear from you..
>> but, we like you a great deal....but.
>> I AM A LEFTY...AND ALL MY LEFT STUDENTS
>> THANK ME FOR NOT CHANGING THEM.
>> MELVIN LEE LEFTIE,LEFTY.
>> and, who the hell is `mojo`?...thought that it was joyce's dog.
>> From:
>> Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
>> web site: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
>>
>>
>___________________________________________________________________________
_
>__
>> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>>
>> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>>
>> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
>melpots@pclink.com.
>
>___________________________________________________________________________
___
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
>melpots@pclink.com.

Working Potter on mon 22 apr 02


In a message dated 4/21/2002 10:22:41 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
ddmg@ISERV.NET writes:

Thanks ,Mark,also.Yes, unplugging anything one goes to the electrics to
work
upon, anything electric, turning it off isn't enough, as Mark states, UNPLUG
it.T hanks ,Mark and anyone else who helped me..
Misty,
> I have a CI wheel and to change mine I unplug the motor from the switch
> plug turn one end over half a turn and plug them back together. Make
> sure to disconnect from the power before you start and that you plug it
> back in to use it
> Good luck
>

Roger Bourland on mon 22 apr 02


Makes me feel good. Warm smiles and inner glow. I have a Lockerbie Willie
wheel. If someone wants to throw leftie on it, just turn the switch to
the left, voila! Spins the other way. Lefties are big here in the valley
of the sun. Randy Johnson is our prime leftie.

Me? I'm right-handed. Nice to know that I could switch if I wanted. Even
better to have a wheel that, left or right, is simply outstanding.

Roger Bourland

Pat Lindemann on mon 22 apr 02


I am left handed, but learned how to throw from
someone who was right handed. I learned to throw with
a kick wheel, and the whole concept of kicking with
the opposite foot, a different direction was too
much--
And I have since taught many students to throw, all
the same way and wheel direction that I learned,
regardless of what 'handed' they are. It works fine
:)

Pat in sunny South Dakota!

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Gregory Evans on mon 22 apr 02


Why would anyone in their right mind want to change. Being left handed I
find it normal and one of the few processes that I did not have mirror.

Ana Gonzalez-Martingale on thu 25 apr 02


THank you, I was just about to ask for advice on how to teach lefties. I
teach 5th g rade girls and just yesterday I had a student who is left handed
and I just wasn't sure if I should change the direction of the wheel or not.
I decided to let it go conterclockwise, the way I throw. She did fine.
Thanks again.
Ana...