I’ve always worked with my hands. As a child it was embroidery with a hoop and sewing my own clothing. At around nine years old my mother taught me to knit, then there was a brief macrame obsession in the 70’s where I decorated my bedroom with intricately knotted macramé pot hangers into which I hung plants of various kinds. Later, when living in LA I worked for a tailor and watched how he would transform yards of material into the most elegant suit and was taught how to assist. Hollywood’s finest came to him.
Later is was fashion design, draping was particularly appealing because you could manipulate the fabric to hang in interesting ways on the human body, and then I began designing knitwear. Jewelry design and learning to solder and manipulate metals of various kinds, then hand stitching and now textile art, improvisational stitching, and all along the way there were forays into other things such as origami, painting, collage, throwing clay onto a wheel; always there’s been something to occupy my hands.
And then this morning I saw the following on my facebook feed:
“Grandma how do you deal with pain?”
“With your hands, dear. When you do it with your mind, the pain hardens even more.”
“With your hands, grandma?”
“Yes, yes. Our hands are the antennas of our Soul. When you move them by sewing, cooking, painting, touching the earth or sinking them into the earth, they send signals to the deepest part of you and you calm down. This way she doesn’t have to send pain anymore to show it.”
Are hands really that important?”
“Yes my grandchild. Think of babies: they get to know the world thanks to their touch. When you look at the hands of older people, they tell more about their lives than any other part of the body. Everything that is made by hand, so it is said, is made with the heart because it really is like this: hands and heart are connected. Think of lovers: When their hands touch, they love each other in the most sublime way.”
“My hands grandma… how long since I used them like that!”
“Move them my love, start creating with them and everything in you will move. The pain will not go away. But it will be the best masterpiece. And it won’t hurt as much anymore, because you managed to embroider your essence.”
By: Elena Bernabe of the wall of San Arte
Our hands. A friend of mine told me that she met a man who could tell the age of anyone who came to him. She said he didn’t look at her face or her eyes or her body, he looked at her hands, held them in his and then announced her age accurately.
May your hands serve you well today.
I really loved this post especially because my grand niece was born two days ago–two months premature, weighing in at 4 pounds. She is doing well, and right now so much of her contact is through hands only–her tiny fingers grasping her parents through the incubator openings. Hands of doctors and nurses working on her tiny body. It’s like we’re all masterpieces formed by countless hands over our lifetimes. Thank you for this post, Ariane.
Thx so much Amy. What a beautiful message. I’m reading a book called The Soul of an Octopus and how they use their whole body to feel and taste. It’s an amazing and utterly compelling book. It reminded me of an infant and how everything is about touch and taste and all the information that is received through those two senses. Congratulations regarding your grand niece. How wonderful. I’m wishing her and all of you strength and joy.
This is so beautiful Ariane! Like you!
I love the idea of the hand and heart connectivity. I worked on dairy farms right out of college and worked with men, some in their 70s and 80s who had handmilked cows before mechanical milking machines came into existence. Again, it was incredible to see how hard they had worked via their hands. Another industry and craft but so many stories in those hands.
Thx so much Sandy. I love hearing about the elderly men milking the cows. Those hands must have been works of art! ❤️
Hands…my Latin teacher once told me I had nervous fingers…always to be busy. I am sitting here in hospital waiting room with redwork embroidery in my hands. I have always kept them busy with tatting, drawing, sashiko, quilting, it is who I am. And those nervous fingers…Served me well as I taught deaf children for 30 years. I enjoy reading your posts. Stitch on !
Oh I love reading about your nervous fingers and not only all the handwork but teaching deaf children and signing. Amazing!! ❤️❤️
Loved this too Ariane, read the same story yesterday and loved it. My doctor about 10 years ago told me my hands reminded him of his grandma. I said why is that, they are scarred from work and he said that’s right, working hands, creative hands, hands that tell a story of life. Now it’s not only my hands but from elbows down, scars and blood raised to the top layers of skin from knocking them against something but yes the stories to tell
Hi Kathe – Aw… I just love this. I always loved my grandmother’s arthritic hands and now my mother has them too. They are beautiful, gnarled, weathered and filled with experience and wisdom. ❤️
My grandmother taught me how to crochet and read a pattern. Then I went to knitting and tatting. I am using my tatting in my stitching you have taught me. I have always used my hands. Stain glass, pottery, felting, needle punch, quilting, baskets and making beaded jewelry, crossing stitch, embroidery. There are few crafts that I have not tried. I work when I am awake making something. I really do not keep many things. I enjoy making and giving. Realizing that people have no idea how long it takes to produce. The way I look at it is giving a piece of myself because I love working with my hands. Thank you so much for inspiring us to go back to original roots of hand stitching, Cannot wait to get up in the morning to get started.
Oh Brenda what a lovely message. Yes, I have the same feeling, I cannot wait to get up and create something. ❤️
My journey began with making mud pies! Then Mom taught me how to knit when I was 7. I still recall the first piece I knitted…started with 20 stitches and ended with three. I was so proud of it. I then began knitting doll clothes. From there I graduated to knitting baby clothes for my friends who were having babies while I was in nursing school. There again using my hands to soothe and comfort. Then came macramé, quilting and embroidery. And then…drum roll here…came Sue Spargo and Ariane Zurcher!! Need i say more. It’s a whole new world even though I am now in my 70’s. Yes, my hands are pretty beat up now, but after reading your article I realize it’s OK if my stitches aren’t quite right as long as they continue to soothe my soul. Thanks for that. Now..on to more stitching!
Aw… how wonderful. So many of the same pursuits!!! How’s the PT going? ❤️
Thank you for sharing that endearing post. It’s truth is resonating deeply within me and enabling me to accept the aging look of my hands. Wishing you peace like a river amid the bed rocks of life.
Aw… thank you so much Barbara. Wishing you the same! ❤️