Hand Exercises and Non-dominant Hand Sketching
In the comment section of the last post about loosening up in the studio, Carol G of Paris Breakfast fame, asked me to explain the hand exercises I do. While I mostly do these things with little thought these days, I had to stop and watch myself to figure out exactly what it is I do. These exercises are really not all that much, except for one, so I will try to explain them. If any of this does not make sense, ask me for clarification.
1. Do a general overall hand massage on yourself with some nice oil or lotion. I am a firm believer in Virgin Coconut Oil, myself.
2. With your palms pressed together, push as hard as you can, then push harder with one hand forcing the opposite hand back as far as you can without hurting yourself.
3. Keeping your palms pressed together, begin to spread your fingers. I begin with spreading the index finger from “tall man” and continuing down the line to the spread between ring finger and pinky. I do this several times.
4. Then I put my hands behind my back and repeat #2 and #3. Then I work my hands as far up my back as possible trying to keep my palms together and my hands resting between my shoulder blades. Moving my elbows closer together also helps me to feel a good stretch.
So these help me to feel as though I am really getting the blood to flow as I contemplate what is happening in my studio and what I might work on. But there is one thing which really seems to help more than anything else. I think the reason is because it is a technique which addresses much more than the physical. That is to utilize my non-dominate hand. For me, that is my left. I like to journal and make notes long hand, but sometimes I get tired, so I make myself switch hands! My favorite thing, however, is to sketch with my left hand! I have a left hand sketchbook, even! Sure, I get quirky results, but they are fun and they really do help me keep my hands flexible!
This particular satchel sketch I just posted on Kind Art, too. You can read about the satchel there.
If you are having problems with your hands or if you just want to try to limber up a bit more, you might give these exercises a try. Clearly, I am not a medical person of any type, so use these ideas at your own risk.
So yes, we were caught up in the “derecho” storm. We were without power in this searing heat for only 26 hours. So many other people are still without electricity. We did not have any communication means (no cell/mobil, landlines or internet) for some time and even needed to boil our water for a bit. For us, all of these things are back to normal, with the exception of some emergency phone issues (in the US that is 911) still needing sorting. We were very, very lucky here. We had no injuries and all of our services were returned within 3 days. So many others are not nearly as fortunate. In addition, there is a devistating fire happening in Colorado and many have lost their homes. On her last post, Gwen Fox describes what she did to prepare out there. Please keep all these people in your thoughts as you go through your holiday (Americans) week!
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There are 4 Comments to "Hand Exercises and Non-dominant Hand Sketching"
Thanks so much Kim for telling all.
I immediately started doing your exercises.
Though drawing with my leftie would be a stretch.
Thanks too for the link to Gwen Fox!!
merci carolg
so much weather going on out there. glad you werent too long without electricity. some folks still are! and the fires, scary. thanks for the hand exercises. love the non-dominant hand drawings. mine is the right. i do that every now and again. probably confuses the logical mind, LOL.
Hi Suki, you are so right about so much weather going on. My heart breaks for those still without electricity as our temperatures are amazingly high for this time of year! All of this weather really makes you wonder what is going on with our earth.
The non-dominant hand drawings, I feel, are a very powerful tool. You may have heard this story before, but when I was in first grade my teacher taught me to do this so I could learn to read easier. It worked beautifully, so I have been “exchanging” hands ever since. It absolutely takes the pressure off of the dominant hand and it also balances the brain some. I find, you also look closer at any particular subject and that is probably because you are not relying on what you know. It makes me think it might be a good way to explore detailed work.
Thanks Suki for stopping by! You are such a wonderful blog reader. Peace!
Sure Carol, I am glad to share. I hope you find the exercises helpful over time. Now come on, you can draw with your lefty and I bet you find you are better at it than you thought you would be! While I am not a great sketcher, the left-hand work totally frees up my creative brain! Give it a try, Carol!