Hands Series

Artist Statement

Interactions define the human race.  Our interactions on a personal level between each other, interactions in nature, and our interactions with society all contribute to how we define ourselves.  When someone asks, “Who are you?”  You may answer by stating your profession or a social group in which you belong.  An artist may say that he is a painter.  He is describing his interaction between himself and the medium in which he acts.  You may be a father, brother, Christian, Republican, etc.  All these titles define you and these titles represent the interactions you create in your life. 

How do we interact?  We communicate to each other through speech.  Sight enables us to read emotions and experience the world around us.  Taste makes things sweeter and sounds invoke feeling.  Smells make everything more real.  Touch allows us to gain an understanding of the environment around us.  Our hands allow us to act.  We can manipulate the world through our hands.  We can build skyscrapers, write sonnets, and love to a greater degree through our hands. 

By focusing on the interactions of hands in my art, I am able to define people better than I could ever say.  The great thing about hands is that I can capture raw emotion by depicting them from an event; yet, I can also evoke a simple idea through the actions of hands.  It’s a common language because they are identifiable to all people of all ages.  Through the depictions of hands I can better define the people around me and myself.