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attention all mug-gers: useful mugs for the elderly!

updated sat 28 jun 08

 

David Hendley on thu 26 jun 08


Yes, lugs can be useful on a mug. A big handle on one side
and a lug on the other is good.
I inadvertently came upon another good design for people
with arthritis: I like to make my straight-sided mugs with
a lazy swirl going up the side (the last throwing pass is
done with the wheel going very slow). I do it because I like
the way it looks - organic and handmade rather than
straight.
Anyway, a customer fell in love with these mugs because
a hand can fit right around them and the swirl fits
right between the fingers, offering a better grip. She has
trouble holding a mug only with the handle.

This "elderly" friend is 54 years old.

David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
david(at)farmpots(dot)com
http://www.farmpots.com


----- Original Message -----
> My neighbors love my mugs because they are wide at the top (4" fired) and
> have large generous handles.
>
> All those cutesy mugs with itty bitty handles one can barely get the index
> of a small hand through don't work. Those super large mugs likewise are
> impractical.
>
> But think on this. At this point of senescence I cannot bend my right
> index
> properly,and have lost most of the strength of my right thumb. (For
> pity's
> sake, stop sniveling, Argentina!) Many of my coevals are equally impeded.
> And if they aren't there yet--well yest. I heard a friend's husband had
> cut
> his hand in half with a chain saw! He'll be ok...but I doubt he will be
> playing the flute any time soon.

steve graber on thu 26 jun 08


i saw a guy this way (cal state fulerton?) who made a line of those not as =
mugs but as small bowls.=A0 =0Athe idea was to snag a lug between=A0your mi=
ddle & 1st fingers to hold the bowl.=A0 he used his as a cerial bowl and a =
mug to finish the milk off.=A0 =0Athe lug was actually "long".=A0 longer th=
an the depth of your palm, maybe 3 inches protruding from the bowl.=A0 =0Ai=
tried a few but didn't refine it for me and dropped the idea.=A0 but i saw=
what he did, did in fact work well with his hand.=A0 =0Asee ya=0A=A0Steve =
Graber, Graber's Pottery, Inc=0AClaremont, California USA=0AThe Steve Tool =
- for awesum texture on pots! =0Awww.graberspottery.com steve@graberspotter=
y.com=0A=0A=0A=0A----- Original Message ----=0AFrom: Lili Krakowski owski@CITLINK.NET>=0ATo: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG=0ASent: Thursday, June 26=
, 2008 12:33:13 PM=0ASubject: Attention all Mug-gers: Useful mugs for the E=
lderly!=0A=0AMy neighbors love my mugs because they are wide at the top (4"=
fired) and=0Ahave large generous handles.=0A=0AAll those cutesy mugs with =
itty bitty handles one can barely get the index=0Aof a small hand through d=
on't work.=A0 Those super large mugs likewise are=0Aimpractical.=0A=0ABut t=
hink on this.=A0 At this point of senescence I cannot bend my right index=
=0Aproperly,and have lost most of the strength of my right thumb.=A0 (For p=
ity's=0Asake, stop sniveling, Argentina!) Many of my coevals are equally im=
peded.=0AAnd if they aren't there yet--well yest. I heard a friend's husban=
d had cut=0Ahis hand in half with a chain saw!=A0 He'll be ok...but I doubt=
he will be=0Aplaying the flute any time soon.=0A=0ASo how about a mug that=
is normal size, 4-4.5 inches across. holds 8 oz with=0Aan inch to spare, a=
nd has LUGS instead of handles?=0ALugs such as large storage jars have, a h=
orizontal maybe slightly curved=0Astrip, maybe 1" wide?=A0 One on each side=
?=A0 So that you can grab your mug with=0ABOTH hands , and if your hands ar=
e not strong, or if the mug is damp it=0Acannot slip out of your hands.=0A=
=0AWouldna that be neat?=0A=0A=0A=0ALili Krakowski=0A=0ABe of good courage=
=0A=0A=0A=0A

Lili Krakowski on thu 26 jun 08


My neighbors love my mugs because they are wide at the top (4" fired) and
have large generous handles.

All those cutesy mugs with itty bitty handles one can barely get the index
of a small hand through don't work. Those super large mugs likewise are
impractical.

But think on this. At this point of senescence I cannot bend my right index
properly,and have lost most of the strength of my right thumb. (For pity's
sake, stop sniveling, Argentina!) Many of my coevals are equally impeded.
And if they aren't there yet--well yest. I heard a friend's husband had cut
his hand in half with a chain saw! He'll be ok...but I doubt he will be
playing the flute any time soon.

So how about a mug that is normal size, 4-4.5 inches across. holds 8 oz with
an inch to spare, and has LUGS instead of handles?
Lugs such as large storage jars have, a horizontal maybe slightly curved
strip, maybe 1" wide? One on each side? So that you can grab your mug with
BOTH hands , and if your hands are not strong, or if the mug is damp it
cannot slip out of your hands.

Wouldna that be neat?



Lili Krakowski

Be of good courage

Eleanor on fri 27 jun 08


> Lili said:

> Lugs..........One on each side? So that you can grab your mug with
> BOTH hands

Second childhood?

That's how they make plastic (ugh!) cups for small children: shallower
than adult size, of course, handles on opposite sides with openings
large enough for a couple of kiddie fingers..................

Good idea, Lili.

Eleanor Kohler
Centerport, NY

Lee Love on fri 27 jun 08


It may be counter intuitive, but yunomi are easier to hold than mugs
are. It takes no finger strength. You just have to make them the
right size to fit between the curled index and thumb .

--
Lee Love in Minneapolis
http://mashikopots.blogspot.com/
http://claycraft.blogspot.com/

"We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is
rounded with a sleep." --PROSPERO Tempest Shakespeare