Untitled, Hand of the Maker Series

HAYLEY SMITH

Material and Technique
Maple, Gouache
Turned, Bleached, Carved, Painted
Wall-mounted with a key-hole plate on back for installation
15” Dia x 1” D

About The Work
Many years ago, I took a trip to Canyon de Chelly in Northern Arizona and hiked down into the Canyon. Under a rock overhang, the walls were covered with handprints in vivid earthen colors. The Anasazi who made these prints left the Canyon at least 700 years ago but left something of themselves behind. A portal to the past, and to the future. I experienced a powerful urge to connect, to place my hand palm to palm with the past. In doing so, becoming part of their future.

The handprint is the most common representational rock art image worldwide. A handprint may be common, however, it is the hand of its maker and as unique as its maker.

Once a living tree, every piece of wood’s grain is unique. It changes with every modulation. The silhouette of the maker’s hand creates a portal to what remains of the tree and a symbiosis between maker and material.





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