DON'T MISS A THING

‘It’s all in your hands,’ they say, and true to the saying, it was Michelangelo’s fresco, The Creation of Adam, that brought together the power of hands of God and Man to touch and create a Being in God’s image. Michelangelo made his hands his Muse, or so the world believed. His muse had an angle in the way it looked up while painting the Sistine Chapel, and then his muse, his hands, powered an image so divine, it gave meaning and light to the Book of Genesis. It could be said quite lyrically, ‘M’s Muse had the upper hand’ for that moment in time that became timeless and a priceless dedication to creation itself. Undoubtedly, his hands became a symbol of both prominence and dominance in the field of art.

Hands, as David Bronowski said, are the cutting edge of the mind, perhaps, the only connector between the head and the heart that makes man an artist.

The arts are personified by and through hands. Both the prominent and dominant actions of the palms and fingers gave birth to masterpieces in endless scopes of what defines art. Hands, the Muse, the Symbol, the Order, and the Form make the connection to life itself. Hands make imagination tangible.

Let’s assume if my brains were in my hands, I would craft it into a flower carefully, only because hands have the power to do it. So, for the sake of ‘no argument,’ my hands are as intelligent as my brain. And like the philosopher, Anaxagoras said, “it is by having hands that man is the most intelligent of animals’’, and science proves there are more connections between your brain and the palm of your hands than any other body part.

Unlocking this thought to the emotional high of hands is its symbolism. For many, when the tongue is tied or the sound of silence takes over, the hands speak and pose as symbols in language and thought. Every gesture, movement, and design from palms to fingers symbolizes a feeling, an action, and speaks to humankind just as easily as hands on a keyboard making music, a symbol of bold articulation.

Seen in world-class craftsmanship, from Haute hands in fashion and home décor to hand gestures in paintings, carvings, and food delicacies, the remarkable emotions of hands and the craftsman’s creation symbolize ‘I’m possible’ in the ‘impossible,’ as in when I saw my name carved on a grain of rice! Hands create perspective.

Hands that rock the cradle. Hands that make action meaningful. Hands that define the feeling and express what the heart already knows. Hands that speak a language of their own. Hands that build bridges by extending. Hands, as David Bronowski said, are the cutting edge of the mind, perhaps, the only connector between the head and the heart that makes man an artist. The many sayings of the power of hands unite gracefully in crafting its purpose, no doubt, but the power of touch in giving with one hand and resting the other on a burdened shoulder is what creates spiritual magic.

The philosophy and actions behind the hands are the skills it sharpens itself with. It’s been widely written about as ‘Hand Skills.’ Many are useful and kept. Some will make way for ‘newer’ skills. And some may well disappear.

The one that will keep is the usefulness of hands in the skilled creations of art. From paintings on canvas to designs in nail art, the enigma of the dance of a thousand hands, to KOKET’s masterpiece of the mirror with hands, to hands-on instruments that play on and on, to hands that weave and sow for goddesses. And all the greatness in which hands symbolize and come alive, even in idiomatic expressions such as, “You are in good hands’’!

In almost every culture and religion, in myths, and even handshakes, the symbolism of hands is rich and varied. I come from India with a deep understanding of Indian iconography, where ‘mudras’ or imagery of the hands express a multitude of feelings in a system of hand gestures in yoga, dance, and palmistry, and the universal ‘Namaste’ in greeting that which the world is familiar with, are all embedded with intense meaning. Likewise, my Buddhist neighbors see the crafted hand of Lord Buddha as a symbol of protection.

On the other side of this wisdom is a lamp designed by KOKET, held by two hands that symbolize, in my mind, tangible enlightenment. Quite simply, when my eyes engulf what the hand designs with meaning and perfection, it leads me to my vision of my Creator and Muse, of sensation and sensibilities, cleansing and purification, of a phrase that describes hands in the signature line of a giving institution, “Heart to God; Hand to Man.” Just where you lay your hands or lend your hands, as they say, make all things beautiful.

It’s breathtaking when you pick up a luxury magazine, catalog, or creations of high-end archived collectibles, to see what masterpieces in fine art, self-adorning art, and décor, couture, and jewelry, to name a few, have been created. It’s all there for the taking, for the people, of skilled hands, and by the artisans—enchanting, luxurious creations to possess and customize. One comes to mind that all at once is a dedication for the Creator and a Muse for hands, KOKET’s Muse Sconce. An enlightening piece to adorn light itself, held in gold hands in a ‘mudra’ imagery, thumb to forefinger meaning and symbolizing inner perfection, and when you have that, you have a ‘nirvana’ (enlightened) transcendent state of ‘moksha,’ freedom!

In folding my hands to my Creator and my Muse, I salute the journey it constantly undertakes in its creative path and creative processes bringing vision to reality and action to powerful images. In the pristine painting of The Creation of Adam, it is the forefingers of the hands of God and man that extend in touching, and from it, humankind was created. It may behoove us all to use the power of our hands carefully. The genie is not in the lamp or bottle. It’s in our hands.

Words by Seema Azharuddin
Article Originally Appeared in Love Happens Volume 5
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