Daly, Nora

In Praise of Hands, written by Nora Daly:

With every passing second as I sit and think about the life of the human hand, I can’t help but notice the number of times I move my own hands. They move in the smallest, most insignificant ways even at times when I am not consciously connected to their movement. Their motions are confident in direction, and harbor an unexplainable knowledge of the surfaces they explore. My fingers extend and flutter, retract and play dead; each one stands alone, but freely mingles with the others giving the idea that they are aware of their life and the life that flows through each neighboring phalange. I feel as though in The Life of Forms in Art, Henri Focillion wanted to express the hand as more than just a lifeless extremity ruled by the mind but more like a tool that connects the internal thoughts and intentions of the brain with the physical world.
This idea is interesting because a person’s hand is simple and is something that is taken for granted; we use them to greet, hold, talk, express, paint, sculpt, mimic, and create sound. They have the power to give the gift of voice to the mute, reading for the blind and conversation to the deaf, and the list goes on. All of these actions whether they are intentional or not come from the fluidity of the connection of the brain down to our fingertips. It is a nearly impossible and an utterly frustrating task to pin point and even comprehend the exact moment in which the Frontal Lobe of the brain sends the split-second signal to the nerves in ones hand, directing them to scratch, lift, rub, feel or hide away. Our hands are filled with life, for, they have a pulse, feel pain, tickles and relaxation, and they can form to any shape with a simple grasp, and can bend at a single digit. However, it is a far deeper topic than just the molecular and scientific aspect of the Parietal Lobe’s control over sense of touch and appreciation of form through contact, and the simplistic knowledge that the hand moves at the will of its owner; instead it is a force that cannot be documented or measure by any reach of science.
The powerfulness of the hand and its ability to morph thoughts and ideas into matter and images as well as to feel and fulfill the brains analysis of certain things is amazing, and Focillon illustrates this point beautifully when he says, “The sense of touch fills nature with mysterious forces. Without it, nature is like the pleasant landscapes of the magic lantern, slight, flat and chimerical” (In Praise of Hands, page 163). This statement truly shows the connection a hand can create between the mind and the most inner senses; it reaches out well past the confines of the skull and can implement these feelings by a simple touch; a touch that can also change the path of the mind, giving it more substance and concreteness to define or create it. The hand is the foremost ambassador for humans to interact with the world around them; they translate our thoughts into words on paper and actions by demonstration and emphasis. They give life to our conversation, and even extend the invisible emotions of love, like the skip of a heart or the rush of blood to the head all in their fluid movements.
Hands take the life of the mind, life of their own, and sometimes give life to other objects. They cause change in landscape, destruction, and addition, but also create form from the bleakest of canvases. One author has put it as such, “But one of the attributes of love, like art, is to bring harmony and order out of chaos, to introduce meaning and affect where before there was none, to give rhythmic variations, highs and lows to a landscape that was previously flat." I feel as though the hand is the most vital tool in connecting and extending feelings, of love, aggression and concern; they connect different objects to one another, for all hands that create art interconnect other works of art, essentially adding to their beauty as one. It is mentioned in, In Praise of Hands like so, “Contact and usage humanized the inert object and more or less set it apart from its classification as something unique. Anyone who has not known men who live by their hands cannot understand the strength of these hidden relationships” (In Praise of Hands, page 166).
I believe the thought that the human hand, whether it be attached to the greatest painter of all time or the iron worker who built the scaffolding used to support the artist, the hand is a wonderful tool. One that connects and mobilizes the visions and imaginations of the most innovative thinkers, for the hand is controlled by the mind, but it also has a life of its own, and fluidity that comes from its intricate bone structure and tendon flexibility is something that is almost unimaginable to explain or conceptualize as controllable.
But what exactly are the connecting factors between the outside world and the human hand. Our fingertips seem to be the most sensitive and dependable instruments known to mankind, so can we negate the power of the entire extremity and simply apply our praise to the 5 extensions of our palm? I find this entire topic to be so striking because it is one that never has an end. I have developed a great interest and wide range of thought on this idea of praising the hand. I see it as a very profound suggestion that our hands could be more than just an extension of our wrists, or simply lifeless forms made up of bone, tendons, and flesh. It has been presented in the text in such a profound way, and I found myself taking notice of the actions in which my hands create, and take part in, whether they be of the minutest measure or the greatest of displays my hands move with fluidity and coordination. With this movement it is possible for the hands to begin the creation process and allow art to move from the confines of the mind and be placed into the outside world. In creating art as it has been discussed before, it is more than just a physical experience of hand meets brush, and brush meets canvas, it’s a state of mind, a true mental and emotional experience; one that can ease the mind and entrance the artist deep into their craft. I believe it is during creation that the hand and mind bond in the most unexplainable way. For, it is during this time that the deepest and most creative thoughts are given a space to spill through, and take form from their once shapeless existence. When painting, sculpting, smudging, or tediously penning the finest detail our hand is our most trusted tool, for it is at this time that we control our movements to go left to right, apply pressure for varied shades and connect the picture in our mind to what is there in front of us. But in my own creating experience I struggled with the reality of what was really in control. It is such a fluid movement when creating art that I found myself relaxed into a trance-like state, my thoughts were brought to life by the stroke of my hand and it was easy to sit back and just let my hand do the creating. There was subconscious direction and it moved and positioned itself with confidence and knowledge of how to display the picture in my head. This only can occur if you relieve yourself of all inhibitions and allow for the hand to take control and move freely.
I feel as though in making any work of art, the artist has the power and the ability to center all of their emotions and funnel their inner most passions, secrets and demons onto one canvas. In creating a visual and physical representation of the thoughts that race through your head, an artist can gain the satisfaction of making their emotions come alive right in front of them. In order to create art you must feel the transition from idea to reality. I inhabited a mode of being that was calm and collected, thoughtful and focused. I was able to pour my thoughts onto the paper with my most natural tool, and in doing so I gained a sense of clarity, and appreciation for the thoughts that so often get jumbled within the walls of my mind. Through this process and the process of examining art, the hand can not only create but help propel the phenomenon of creating and influence more profound though, for example; with the start of my piece of art all I had was the picture in my mind and the theme I wanted to present, so I began to draw and draw some more, and with every stroke and swerve of my hand a new form came about, allowing me to see more within the drawing; a picture within itself; as if it was doing the creating along with me.
It is truly an intriguing experience to try and consciously note and pin point the connection between brain and hand, for, their movement on the most basic level is so instinctive and natural. I see more of a connection between art and the tools we use to create it, there is rhythm and reason between the two, and our hands are the most powerful and dependable instruments in expression. Whether it may be with paints or clay, or reaching out to shake a hand, caress the face of a lover, strike the air with frustration or shake about to add emphasis to a story, our hands feed off of the life that runs through them, and add life and color to the world around us. With a simple touch our inner beings can feel, explore, be burned, feel comfort and connect with others and things, therefore, with our hands we can absorb as much as we contribute with these bodily and ultimately mental extensions.
There is a humbling quality to examining the life and form of hands, and through the application of using your hands it is rewarding to see that art and creation are connected far beyond the outward stretch of the hand and arm.


1. Focillon, Henri. The Life of Forms in Art. New York: Zone Books, 1992. 157-184.

2. “But one of the attributes of love, like art, is to bring harmony and order out of chaos, to introduce meaning and affect where before there was none, to give rhythmic variations, highs and lows to a landscape that was previously flat."
-Molly Haskell












Nora and I have known each other since kindergarten, and she has known me longer and deeper than most people. We have an extremely unique friendship, as we agree on so much but also are coming into ourselves. I consider Nora an admirable woman, and an intelligent female in my generation. I am proud to consider myself part of her family, and have traveled to Ireland, London, Italy, Greece, and Turkey with her at different points in our lives. Our protective and sincere friendship is part of who I was and who I am becoming, and I can't imagine the many places we both may go. The nature of who we are as independent spirits naturally lends us to distant correspondence, but our sincerity is the basis for love for one another ambitions and hopes. I nurture her dreams, as well as her to mine.

Nora's hands are so recognizable to me personally, especially knowing her mother's- which are incredibly similiar. However, I believe that Nora's have a strength to them very different than her mothers. Whether it be sports or all of her writing and journaling- she has identified her own's from both her mother's and her grandmother's.