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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.
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Joy Tanner said…
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.

I'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
November 18, 2008 at 10:50 PM
Clay Club said…
there's so much about you Joy that I never knew.
Thanks for the input!
November 19, 2008 at 12:21 AM
CGS said…
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).

Trimming, 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.
November 19, 2008 at 1:09 PM
Tracey Broome said…
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!
November 19, 2008 at 6:56 PM
Becca Floyd said…
ah 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.
Becca Floyd
November 20, 2008 at 6:04 PM
Joy Tanner said…
Hey Becca! How are you! :)
You're out there, too! I'm hoping maybe I'll see you around these parts for your show opening during our TRAC tour?
November 20, 2008 at 9:18 PM
Becca Floyd said…
I'd love to see you during the trac tour, Joy! Hope you are doing well.
November 20, 2008 at 9:47 PM
Mark Peters said…
I'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.
November 21, 2008 at 10:54 AM
Lori Watts said…
I'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.
November 22, 2008 at 8:26 AM
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