Eleanor on mon 20 feb 06
Recently, Tony C. remarked that, by examining the handle of a mug, he
could tell if the potter was right- or left-handed.
As a left-handed person in a largely right-handed world, I take special
notice of such remarks. On all my mugs the sides of the handles differ:
one side is smooth and rounded; the other side is somewhat sharper.
Holding the mug in my right hand, I see the smooth side.
I have always been aware of this difference and have made some effort
to "correct" it by rotating the clay as I pull or smoothing out the
sharp side after the handle is attached.
My handles remain more or less asymmetrical.
Now one can call this a "fault" or one can call this "gestural", a term
often (but not always) used to describe pots that are not exactly
conventional-looking: e.g. funky; lopsided; etc.
At this point I must prefer "gestural."
The mug I'm bringing to NCECA will:
-- have a gestural handle
-- lack a thumb stop
-- be footed
I hope the receiver will react with kindness :-)
Eleanor Kohler
Centerport, NY
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