My obsession with our most useful instrument, our hands, continues. These hands are removed from discarded dolls. They are lovingly electroformed in copper. This process means they have a thick coating of copper and the original hand remains locked inside.
As hands almost always come in pairs, I made two of these. Each hand is slightly different. Both have reclaimed Sterling Silver bezels, which are pinned to their respective arms.
The piece (on the left) has a slightly flared and textured bezel with a heart.
The one on the right has a plain polished bezel, simple and elegant.
The uncoated versions of these hands are so spindly and paralysed, very unlike real hands. Their lack of movement was something I found frustrating as a child playing with dolls. The copper coating gives them added detail, strength and character. Perhaps the children who abandoned them would find them renewed interest in them in their new state.
The empty hand is a symbol of peace, to come unarmed, open and ready to receive, to show fearlessness. The hand is a timeless symbol relevant to many cultures.
The left hand with the heart is now sold, but the right hand is available from
The Flaming Lady Art House