Dawnisaacs@AOL.COM on sat 25 may 02
Does anyone have any information about this condition who would be willing
to
share it with me. Please email me. Thanks. D. Isaacs
Janet Kaiser on sun 26 may 02
I see no one has answered your mail, Dawn, but what exactly do you
wish to know about this "condition"? Many potters "suffer" from it,
but I am not aware of any related health issues. Indeed, the nodding
may help to alleviate muscle strain in the neck and shoulders.
What we call Potter's Nod is purely in jest... Just one of those
little mannerisms one can acquire from years of throwing.
We once had a Welsh sheep dog who had it too!! Nell would watch me
throwing and it was quite funny seeing her nod rhythmically... Mind
you, she would sit in front of the electric fire nodding too... It was
one of those with a fake burning coals effect, produced by a red bulb
with a rotating steel top. We had to remove it to stop her spending
the whole evening sitting patiently nodding at the fire... I do not
recall which came first, the fire nod or the potting nod, but it is
obviously a natural physiological reaction to rotation which some have
and some don't.
Janet Kaiser
The Chapel of Art / Capel Celfyddyd
Home of The International Potters' Path
8 Marine Crescent : Criccieth : GB-Wales
URL: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
postbox@the-coa.org.uk
----- Original Message -----
> Does anyone have any information about this condition who would be
willing to
> share it with me. Please email me. Thanks. D. Isaacs
iandol on mon 27 may 02
Dear Janet,
Having just mentioned this affliction in a paper I am writing I wonder =
if you have noticed that this nodding tends to become synchronised when =
the wheel is slowed, after the initial stages to the open cylinder =
stage.
Those examples I have seen of potters who do exhibit this as part of =
their style seemed to have pots which were just slightly "off centre". =
They seemed to be "beating time" to synchronise their hand or shoulder =
movements to follow the clay as the radius of rotation changed.
But the last time I watched a production thrower, the pace of production =
was so fast the wheel never slowed and there was no oscillation of the =
head on the neck of the worker.
But it is an interesting point.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis.
Janet Kaiser on tue 28 may 02
Dear Ivor
I do not consider Potter's Nod to be an affliction, but certainly it
seems to "intensify" following the centring process, whoever the
nodder is. I have never seen off-centre pots as a symptom, but I may
not be very observant. My favourite nodder, David Frith, certainly
does NOT make off-centre pots and he is a fairly rapid thrower too!!
I do believe just as people are either right or left handed, there are
nodders and non-nodders and they are physiologically and/or
psychologically built that way. There is either a tendency to develop
a nod or there is not. How else can one account for our nodding dog?
It was not learned from example nor a copy-cat behaviour and she would
nod away for hours! I think we should be asking a Doctor of Medicine
to throw light on this one.
The Chapel of Art / Capel Celfyddyd
Home of The International Potters' Path
8 Marine Crescent : Criccieth : GB-Wales
URL: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
postbox@the-coa.org.uk
----- Original Message -----
Dear Janet,
Having just mentioned this affliction in a paper I am writing I wonder
if you have noticed that this nodding tends to become synchronised
when the wheel is slowed, after the initial stages to the open
cylinder stage.
Those examples I have seen of potters who do exhibit this as part of
their style seemed to have pots which were just slightly "off centre".
They seemed to be "beating time" to synchronise their hand or shoulder
movements to follow the clay as the radius of rotation changed.
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