mel jacobson on sun 29 oct 06
marek has some strong thoughts here..worthy
of consideration.
bracing, in my opinion, is done with your own body.
arms, legs, back....it becomes the total body working
together.
that is why i stress so much...use your legs...use the power
of your own body.
if you only throw a couple of pounds of clay...well, use
your arms...pull the clay towards you...to your tummy.
whatever you do..it is easy.
the big issue is: what happens when you get 15 pounds
on your wheel?
if you fight that clay, pull too hard, it breaks down your
body. you get very tired, and after time, you will hurt yourself.
i also stress when i teach...warm up.
stretch your body and muscles.
i used to laugh, when my swimmers would be warming up
for a meet, we would swim more laps in warm up then
the team we are swimming against did that entire week for practice.
making pots for a day is just like going into a very active athletic
event. treat your body as if you are going to run a 10K.
i think maurice hit the nail on the head. the more he did `heavy lifting`
and strong muscle work, the less problem he had with throwing.
far too many people approach clay work like it is `just art`.
sorry, it is not `just art`. it can be very taxing, hard work.
get ready for it. the right way. stretch those hands back,
stretch those arms...
for myself, i get in a pool almost four days a week. i do one hour of
water aerobics. and, i really get stretched out...and one hour
is hardly anything in a pool. then the whirlpool, gab with a bunch
of old folks..(ginny will be 89 next week. she got married in 1940,
al was on the high seas in the navy in 1940. he is just 85.
these are vital, smart terrific people. they give me hope to age
with strength. lloyd will be 96 in a few weeks. i say to myself,
`if those folks can get to the pool and work out, i can.`)
each of us finds a way to throw pots, and do our work. many have
been self taught and carry a great deal of bad `baggage`. some of
it will hurt you later in life. check out what you are doing...if it hurts.
don't do it.
mel
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
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