Gary Fulton is the only person I know of who throws pots with one hand. Those of you who have ever tried to centre a lump of clay as is wobbles chaotically on a spinning wheel will understand just what an achievement this is. Gary lost the use of his right arm in a motorcycle accident and has learnt to throw, by sheer determination, in the time since his accident. I’m so pleased that Gary has agreed to play a part in Dab Hands!
You can read more about Gary’s story in this BBC interview.
If you want to see more of Gary’s work, please visit his Instagram @OneArmedPotter or Gary’s Facebook page and Etsy Shop.
Gary and I will be working together to create a ceramic zoetrope that will illustrate his hand movements in the act of ‘pulling up’ the clay, one of the trickier parts of throwing a pot. I have pared down this movement to twelve frames. A gif of those frames looks like this:
Zoetropes were forerunners to cinema, dating from Victorian times. They are spinning drums that fool the eye into seeing a series of images as a movement. I can’t wait to add my drawings of his hands to the ceramic zoetrope that Gary has made for the project!