Being a Bit Off-Hand

Diva Challenge number 194. And look, it's the day of the challenge and here I am posting. Eliza Murphy set the challenge - draw with your off-hand.

I'm going to admit up front - I love this challenge. I was actually excited to do it, instead of the usual fretting over how to approach it.  Usual routine, looked at what was already there from people, read through their processes and the comments, had a bit of a think. But instead of the usual procrastination that follows I headed straight for my desk and got started. My poor son had to come and remind me it was time for school (he loves school - he'd go on the weekends if they let him).

This one seems to have thrown some people a bit of a curve ball. We are so used to having the fine motor control our main hand affords us. And we know we are expected to be neat. Ever since learning to write, ever since learning to colour in, it has all been about control - "keep your lines straight, write neatly, colour inside the lines". And there are good reasons for this, but it is not all there is.

My spouse was born left-handed. He is of an age where lefties were looked down on and he was made to write with his right hand. He did it, but his handwriting was awful. His handwriting is still awful. When he got his PhD the joke was that the title doctor finally explained his handwriting.

I'm right-handed, but I have long experimented on and off with drawing and writing with my left hand (enduring fascination with Leonardo da Vinci, who was not only ambidextrous, but could do mirror writing. Great brain exercise if you can cope with the bizarre results of trying). When I was in Year 8 of High School we did a sculpture component. We were each given a plaster block and told to sculpt it (after working out designs and plans and having them okayed by the teacher). I could barely make a mark on my block. I told the teacher, who said it's plaster, stop being pathetic, get on with it. For two days I worked away, barely making scratches and becoming more and more tired and frustrated. Third day, I couldn't move my arm or open my fingers without large amounts of pain. Turned out I had severe muscle strain (and was in a sling for a fortnight). At which point the teacher decided he'd show me how silly I was and he'd carve part of my block for me. He gave up after a few minutes, apologised and declared my plaster block as hard as concrete.

To cut a long story short (too late!) I spent the next few weeks writing and drawing with my left hand. It was revelatory. Our abilities do not reside in our hands. They reside in our minds. Fine motor control is another issue, but ability...

The drawings I produced were different, looser, but had their own beauty. My mum has the drawings I did then, or I'd scan a couple and put them here. Writing was do-able, but like my poor spouse, it wasn't tidy. Calligraphy got set aside for the entire time (Most nibs are cut for right-handers. You can get left-hand nibs, but they are still difficult to use. I've had left-handed students. Most give up because it is such a trial. I feel so sad for them. Thank goodness our Sakura pens don't rely on handedness.)

So here's what I did. I liked it up until I added the Bunzo. I have to learn to ignore the string when appropriate. It's there as a guide, not as a dictation. Put your finger over the Bunzo and it's suddenly a much nicer tile. As it is, it looks like something out of Doctor Who and the Green Death.

Squid, Flux, Bunzo, Tripoli, Nipa, Fescu

Here are some things I found useful, if you are feeling daunted by this challenge:

Firstly, relax. Because it is just a tile and because you'll do better if you relax.

Try not to get the pen in a death grip. You'll actually have better control if you hold the pen gently.

Experiment with line creation. If you are shaky pushing the pen, try pulling it, and vice versa. Eg. using left hand, if you are shaky pushing the pen from left to right, try pulling it from right to left. Obviously reverse if you are using your right hand.

Be confident. Hesitant lines are never as attractive as confident lines. Even if you don't feel confident, just go for it. Seize the moment, draw that line!

And in the end, have a laugh, (I certainly did after I got over the maggot crawling over the hill). So here's a laugh for you (it is actually one routine followed by two songs. I have put this up for the opening routine, about two minutes long, so don't feel daunted, but by all means go on to the songs. Flanders and Swann were marvellous).