 |
| New mirror opposite wheel for turning pots |
Over
the past couple of weeks I’ve been trying out a new system in my studio to help
me while throwing and turning pots on the wheel. I’ve had an old mirror lying
around the house for years. It was taken off an unwanted wardrobe that the
previous owners of our house had left behind: so you can imagine it was one of
those long, tall, thin mirrors for seeing yourself full length. I had a feeling
it would come in handy ‘one day’ so kept it, but hadn’t found a use for it - until
now.
Recently
I’ve been suffering from unexplained pain, headaches and numbness in my head
and neck. A bit worrying as you can imagine, but after a couple of visits to
the doctor and some serious re-assessment of my work practice, I came to the
conclusion this was probably self-inflicted. I have a throwing habit that means
I tend to strain my neck sideways by snapping quickly over to the right when I
check the profile side of a pot. My doctor kept insisting I balance this action
by checking the pot on the other side – but since there’s a wall on the
left-hand side of my wheel (putting me in danger of cracking my head open) I’ve
decided to ignore this suggestion entirely and instead opt for using a mirror
to stop me from ‘side-checking’ altogether.
 |
| Turning pots using two mirrors |
For
years I used to use a small hand-mirror for throwing and turning but since I
got my shimpo wheel last year I’ve dropped the habit for some reason. I know
that potters are divided on the idea of using a mirror to help throw or turn.
Some think using one doesn’t give a true representation of the shape of a pot
and prefer the directness of seeing or touching the pot for real. I’ve always
had the opinion that throwing a pot is hard enough as it is! So anything that
can help or ‘ease the pain’ in the process of making a pot, is a potential tool
like any other and therefore a positive thing. And after recent events I really
can’t afford not to use one.
So
I got the old glasscutters out and sliced my old mirror in two (it being far
too tall just to lean against the wall). Luckily there was already a hole in
the mirror where it used to attach to the wardrobe, and all I’ve done is screw
this into the wall directly opposite my wheel. I also use my old hand mirror at
a closer angle so I can get a ‘multi-mirror’ view of my pots: a bit like
driving a car! Already I’ve noticed my symptoms are improving. I’m hoping that
this new, safer work practice will have nipped the problem in the bud. And so
far the pots are coming off the wheel quite nicely too!
