Weekend Art - Hands Across Boundaries

Boundaries bend when hands find each other

I created this collage about ten years ago during an art group at Kay’s studio. A group of us met weekly in that wonderful, light-filled space, with huge windows overlooking a woods and stream. Kay had hundreds of old magazines and catalogs — perfect for collaging.

That day, I found myself drawn to images of hands: hands working, hands reaching, fragments of humanity. I cut and cut, with no plan, just images that I liked. Around the tables, others painted, drew, and shared conversation. The time was unstructured, uncompetitive, both stimulating and deeply relaxing.

As I began assembling, patterns emerged: stripes of zebras, woven textures, bars and beams, a blue blanket held up by hands — perhaps as privacy, or protection. Each circle became a window into connection or confinement, tenderness or struggle.

Together, they spoke of unity that persists even when walls and borders rise. Like today…