{"id":21557,"date":"2026-07-30T10:20:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T10:20:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cursist-courses.com\/throwing-for-left-handers-tips-for-beginners\/"},"modified":"2025-01-30T10:23:49","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T10:23:49","slug":"throwing-for-left-handers-tips-for-beginners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cursist-courses.com\/en\/throwing-for-left-handers-tips-for-beginners\/","title":{"rendered":"Throwing for left-handers: Tips for Beginners"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Are you a left-handed ceramics enthusiast just starting out in pottery? You’re not alone! Although most potter’s wheels and techniques are designed for right-handers, that doesn’t mean you can’t make beautiful ceramics as a lefty. In this article, we’ll discuss how throwing for left-handers differs from right-handers and we give you some helpful tips to get you started. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Advantages to trying it the right-handed way<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Right-handed people in the west make their potter’s wheel turn counterclockwise, left-handed people often do it the other way around. Yet as a left-hander, you don’t necessarily have to learn to throw differently than how others do it. In the throwing process, both hands are important, and you must be able to rely on both hands. Aster, instructor of our course ‘Learning to throw on the potter’s wheel’<\/a> recommends that as a lefty, you should still try to throw as a right-hander first. The reason is that there are many more right-handed ceramicists and teachers. In lessons and online videos, everything is explained and demonstrated right-handed much more often than the other way around. If you manage to learn how to throw the same way, you won’t have to make the translation and you won’t always have to mentally “mirror” what you see. <\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this does not work for everyone. Because even though, as a left-hander, you can learn the techniques right-handed, your reflexes are automatically left-handed. Because of this intuitive action, things can sometimes go wrong. But be sure to try it out, who knows. <\/p>\n

There are a bunch of left-handers who throw their shapes counterclockwise, but then when trimming, they work as left-handers and make the wheel turn in the other direction. When trimming, you work with a tool in your dominant hand, and your other hand plays much less of a role. So for many left-handers, it is “truer” to hold their tool in the left hand and let the potter’s wheel turn clockwise. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Handen\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

How does trimming differ for left-handed people?<\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

As a left-handed potter, you will find that there are some important differences compared to right-handed potters:<\/p>\n