After the 365: Galveston Seawall Hands July 2013

just can't help it ..... while riding our bikes along the Galveston Seawall, I put on the breaks when I spotted these hands. You could not miss them, being smack in the middle of the path. I noticed a bench, artistically painted with a beach scene a few feet away... colors matched. Seems to me the artist had a "playful streak" in them, as do I... why not! Sure did bring a smile to my face!



Galveston TX seawall... spotted these hands right in the middle of the path. July 6, 2013 Photo by Kim Knapp

Hand #365 Mold Making Day: One Of A Kind Hand Plaster Cast created of my right hand

With a plaster cast I created of my right hand (using alginate to create mold and plaster to make cast, finished off with glaze), this 365 Hand project comes to an end. My husband and I have the perfect bottle of wine to share in celebration of a wonderful, fun, interesting and educational year! (See hand blog post #237 Meeker)

I’ve learned much over the past 365 days… here’s a list of the highlights

        ~  Success …. Reached my goal... I can do anything I put my mind to.

~  Support … I could not have done this 365 project without the support of my husband who had to live with my daily “hand” chatter, antics, creations and photos.

~  I found the artist in me… I’m an Artist… commissioned the first 50 hands for Art-O-Mat

~  Time … NO EXCUSES… I found the time daily to be creative and blog.  

~  JOY … I found joy each day … from creating, making a mess, the smell of paint, glue, crayons and markers, working under pressure, feedback from family,  friends and strangers, to the simplest hand finds which brought a smile to my face,  as I went out and about my daily activities....creating memories covering the full range of emotions...silly to serious

~  Sharp … my mind is clearer, I make business decisions quicker and easier and I am not so hung up in details and the “what ifs”.  I’m more creative with my business and daily tasks at work.

~  Discovery.....I love hand prints in concrete… if I drove a cement truck and laid concrete for a living, I would leave a hand print in my work at every job. I’m sure they have rules about that. I wouldn’t make it long on the job!

~  I learned to Blog… this was my first…. and won't be my last

~  I appreciate my right and left hand… they are of value and I don’t take them for granted

~  4 ongoing projects as a result of this 365 Project 

                Lend A Hand Project (helping others)

                The Inkspot Family (children’s book)  

                Art-O-Mat (small hand sculptures for sale)

                Hand Art in Concrete (calendar and wall art)



Mold Making Day... created a plaster cast of my right hand... one of a kind!

 

Hand #364 Inkspots Tour Houston Museum District and Hermann Park

 

Mr. and Mrs. Inkspot, Pointer and Pinkie spend the day visiting the Museum District and Hermann Park in Houston Texas.  They enjoyed venturing into a new world, exploring other cultures, taking in modern masterworks and seeing treasures from all over the world. They took a break, stopping for lunch in the Museum of fine Arts. Mrs. Inkspot enjoyed strolling through the gardens at Hermann Park, while Pinkie and Pointer ran under the trees and played at the reflection pools edge. The trip ended with a walk around the Sam Houston Monument. Pointer was happy to finally see it up close after looking at it all day from afar.  

 

The Inkspot Family tour Houston Texas Museum District and Hermann Park

Hand #363 The Culdesac Gift ... 3 hands in concrete today on my run through Bunker Hill

Going for distance, today I ran a relaxing 8 miles throughout the Bunker Hill area ...running a new route, always on the lookout for hands when I run neighborhoods. At the halfway point, ran down a dead end street... when I arrived at the end of the culdesac, this is what greeted me ...WoooHoooo! It seems fitting that on these final days of posting I would receive this gift of 3 hands in concrete.
Art in concrete "Hand" finds, as those of you who follow my blog know, are one of my favorite 365 posts!

Going back through 365 day Blog posts, counting today, there are 11 street hand finds:#78, #110, #138, #162, #177, #251, #259, #284, #303, #341.



Hand find today on my 8 mile run through the Bunker Hill area... Hand in Concrete art!

Hand #362 a permanent impression of my right hand created in homemade dough.... love the glow

Mixed flour, salt and water to make dough...rolled it out... pressed my hand on it to create impression... in the oven it went to bake for 3 hours.
Placed completed project in front of a lamp. Love the soft "hand glow" effect




Created permanent impression of my right hand using homemade dough.... love the glow

Hand #361 "H" is for HAND

looking for a thank you card in my top desk drawer, I found this wooden "H" tucked away...  down to the wire, I was wondering where my creative hand post would come from today..... smiling, as I gather paint markers

"H" is for H A N D
noun
1. the terminal, prehensile part of the upper limb in humans and other primates, consisting of the wrist, metacarpal area, fingers and thumb.
2. the corresponding part of the forelimb in any of the higher vertebrates.
3. a terminal prehensile part, as the chela of a crustacean, or, in falconry, the foot of a falcon
4. something resembling a hand in shape for function, as various types of pointers: the hands of a clock.




"H" is for Hand

Hand #360 Younger Faster Fearless Hand ~ Let's Go Rockets!

My husband and I are NBA basketball fans. This year is exciting for us because the Houston Rockets made it to the NBA Western First Round playoffs. We are playing Oklahoma City Thunder. The best out of 7 games moves on.

Saturday night, our excitement was building entering the arena for game #3 here in Houston.  As we walked through the gate, every fan received a Red 3 Point “HAND”… YESSSSSSSSS! I was in heaven! To make it even better, each seat in the arena had a white shirt draped over it for fans to wear. This was our first “white-out” game. What a night it was…  arena was a sell out.... we were down by 3 at the last minute… it was loud....we're screaming, cheering … jumping up and down…. The Rockets could not pull out the win in the end... they played their hearts out! Oh so close…..  I was exhausted…. like I had run a marathon!  

As of right now it’s Thunder 3, Rockets 0. Tonight is Game 4 here at home in Houston. We will be there to cheer on the team. The Rockets have to win this game or we are out of the playoffs.

 Let’s Go Rockets!!!!!

Game 3 of NBA playoffs Rockets vs OKC. Cheer on Rockets with a 3 point fan hand!

Hand #359 From farmers market to home... enjoy bringing the fragrance of the outside in

beautiful flowers...from farmers market to home...

enjoy bringing the fragrance of the outside in

 

 

 

removed flowers from a broken stem to create this hand
 

Hand #358 Kale that did not make it into the Juicer, plus straw, makes hand

I juice kale with other fruits and veggies, enjoy sipping beverage through straw. Today's juicing inspired me to create. This kale did not make it into the juicer... cut a straw for fingers, added kale for palm



I  juice kale with other fruits and veggies, then sip beverage through straw... inspired me to create todays hand

Hand #357 Meet "Hookman" Brown Songwriter and Musician

Hookman Brown

I went to pick up our racing packets for this weekend’s race and pulled in the parking lot.  The attendant came out, greeted me with a compliment, a smile and handed me a ticket.  As I walked through the shops, picked up our race numbers and headed back to the car, I could not resist the urge to talk with the parking attendant further. There was a special kindness about him… he had a servants heart. Like a superhero, he intrigued me….

After introducing myself I asked, “If you could be any superhero, who would you be?”  He said “Growing up in Texas City, Texas I read Flash Comics ~ Super Speed.  As a superhero, I would be invisible, fly over, looking below at all that’s going on.” As he spoke a slight smile slowly came over his face. “Super Speed” was what the flash comic possessed. With that said, I was not surprised to learn that this man loves cars. He is the proud owner of two collector cars and is working on buying another. 

Born without a left arm, he was fitted with a prosthetic at the age of 11. For the next 6 years he was cared for by the Shriners, as he grew, they would refit him with a new prosthetic arm. Back then, the hook prosthetic was available. Voluntary opening split hook systems are simple, convenient, light, robust, versatile and relatively affordable. Hooks obviously do not match human hand in both appearance and overall versatility. As technology changed over the years, he preferred to stay with the hook prosthetic. He and those around him were comfortable with this type. He worked outside as a surveyor and the new prosthetics with hands, made with a soft cover, was not as durable and would be difficult and costly to maintain.

Meet Mr. Frank Brown. People call him “Hook”. He’s also well known here in Houston’s music community as “Hookman" Brown the musician. Passion poured out as he talked about writing music and performing. His lack of an arm and hand does not keep him from enjoying life and all it has to offer. “I’m at peace inside. Nothing gets me stirred up.” He said. Hook is a father, grandfather and works two jobs. He is one busy man! Hook is living proof that having faith in yourself, your gifts and talents, your purpose, follow your heart. Hook has created and lives a life with JOY despite his disability.






Hookman Brown, Houston TX, Songwriter and Musician

Hand #356 Hands in the Garden Flowers Blue with Blue Modern Wave

A trip to Paper Source resulted in these 2 lovely sheets of paper, measuring 30x20. Using a pen knife, I cut out hands in Garden Flowers Blue paper then placed it on top of the Blue Modern Wave paper... love the results

cut hands from Garden Flowers Blue paper and placed it over Blue Modern Wave paper

Hand #355 Bouquet of Hands... the result of taking my mind out to play with paint and paper

stiff from sitting at my desk all day... needed to get up, shake it off... take my mind out to play.... paint to paper resulted in this bouquet of hands. Photographed using PuddingCam app on my cell phone.



after sitting at my desk... took my mind out to play... paint to paper... created this hand bouquet

 

Hand #354 3 Hand Find today at Walgreen's ~ NICE

Packed day today, full of errands and chores... running around town....feeling pressure to get it all done....  in and out of Walgreen's (our local drugstore) ... as I raced to get out of the store I stopped in my tracks! WoooHooooo! "Hands" 
1. they are my favorite color
2. there's more than one 
3. I was just waiting for a hand to show up spontainousely as I went about 
    my errands to post on this blog today!

Amazing the therapy I get from doing this blog... these hands gave me pause in the hustle and bustle of my day... after I took this photo... the rest of my day was a breeze.... I felt light-hearted... no pressure to get everything done... and I was smiling. Yes, it was a very good day!  



Happy to have this 3 hand find today at Walgreen's

 

Hand #353 Swarovski Crystal 'Bling Hand' from birds nest

Removed the crystals from the Swarovski Crystal Bird Nest in our display cabinet.... created this "Bling" hand



Swarovski Crystal "Bling Hand"

Hand #352 The Traveling Starbucks Hand

The coffee house experience in the Jacksonville Florida Ariport ... waiting on a flight... make a hand....



The coffee house experience in the Jacksonville Florida Ariport ...
waiting on a flight... make a hand....

Hand #351 Saturday at the Mall ... H&M Hand

looked up high...spotted this hand at the local H&M store in Jacksonville Florida 




looked up high...spotted this hand at the local H&M store in Jacksonville Florida 

Hand #350 Laytex Glove.... before and after

here's a laytex glove...before and after.... sure is silly looking filled with air!




laytex glove...before and after ... silly looking filled with air!

 

Hand #349 kitchen junk drawer HAND

I'm at my son's house visiting... opened the junk drawer... here's what I found...smiling, delighted to add his girlfriends pretty hammer to the mix.




created this had out of items found in my sons kitchen junk drawer

Hand #348 Pretzel Stick Hand

simple and quick today..... here's a Pretzel Stick Hand



Pretzel Stick Hand .... yummy!

Hand # 347 Thankful to all the helping hands in the midst of tragedy at the Finish Line of the Boston Marathon

sad.... sad day for the running community.... Bomb blast at the finish line of the Boston Marathon...
always remember there are "helpers" in the midst of tragedy...
thankful for the hands that helped...



This hand is in honor of the "helpers" in the midst of the tragedy at the Boston Marathon Finish Line

Hand #346 Tax Day in the U.S.A.

did you know? ...
 in 1913, Congress passed the 16th Amendment which says that Congress has the power to lay and collect taxes



April 15, 2013  Taxes are due today!

Hand #345 Moms sea shells from the sea shore

I'm keeping this blog going while at my parents house. After the sea glass hand, it was only fitting I move on to Moms shell collection. Picked a select few to create this hand from her Bahama Island shells... love the corral and crab claw find!



Created a hand from my Mothers Bahammas shell collection

Hand #344 Mom's Sea Glass Collection

 My Mom has walked a lot of beaches over the years... her walks generally reward her with these beauties.... while visiting I spotted her sea glass collection and created this hand.



Hand created from my Mom's sea glass collection.. love the colors!

Hand #343 Man meets Technology

While waiting for a client, I flipped through a dental magazine ... turned the first page and found HANDS!  .... I like the contrast ... Man vs Machine ...  reminded me of a science fiction movie.



Man meets Technology ...

Hand #342 Bronze ~ Diana of the Hunt at the Cummer Museum Jacksonville Florida

While home in Jacksonville Florida I visited the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens. http://www.cummer.org/art
Tuesday between 4 pm and 9 pm they offer FREE entry! On the way to my daughters house, I had to stop for a spell and stroll the gardens ...linger by the fountains... walk barefoot in the grass... a lovely peaceful quiet time along the St Johns river. Taking in the sights and smells along with the majestic Cummer Oak tree. This Bronze titled Diana of the Hunt 1992, recast 1960 stands center, she greeted me as I entered...I took one look of her lovely hand... 



Bronze ~ Diana of the Hunt at the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens,  Jacksonville Florida

Hand #341 Sidewalk Hand Prints found in Riverside, Jacksonville Florida

What a find in the dark! While walking home from dinner with my daughter in the Riverside area of Jacksonville,  I spotted these hands on the sidewalk. Perfect ending to a perfect day!



sidewalk hands found in Riverside,  Jacksonville Florida

Hand #340 Special Friends... Special Hands

Wonderful dinner tonight with dear friends...(thank you Vicky) Couple glasses of wine, white poster board and washable markers... fellowship and laughter....we made a memory!



dinner party hand art ... created by special friends

Hand #339 In the mood for a Blue Moon Beer ~ Reaching

my hand reached for this nice cold beer.... prompting me to cut a hand out of the box before tossing it in the trash. Yes, I always have this blog on my mind. It's become a natural part of my day. What am I going to do when I reach day 366?!




Reached for a Blue Moon Beer, prompting me to cut out this hand from box

Hand #338 Target Popcorn Bag ... Battle of the Hands

While checking out at Target, the fresh popped popcorn smelled soooo good, we caved in and bought a small bag to share. Our hands battled it out, as we reached in for hand fulls while walking to the car. When we arrived home I crafted the winning hand on the bag... mine!




Shared a bag of Target Popcorn... Battle of the Hands reaching in.. My hand won!

Hand #337 Party Hand Graffiti Find by Rail Road Tracks at Memorial Park Houston Texas

What a find.... I just love it when I'm out and about and find a hand when I least expect it! We spotted this today while walking back to our car after running a 4 mile race, 4 Four The Park at Memorial Park Running Trail, Houston Texas. This power pole is located at the parking lot by the rail road tracks... appears to be fresh graffiti.



Party Hand Graffiti Find by Rail Road Tracks at Memorial Park Houston Texas

Hand #336 Cheese Hand vs Carrot Hand... you decide

when I began creating I had no idea what I would end up with. I folded paper, as if to make a fan, snipped a few holes, opened it up, cut out a hand. With the folds back in place, this is the result.... interesting look... has character.... 
you decide.... carrot hand or cheese hand?



Carrot Hand or Cheese Hand... you decide

Hand #335 Where the Circles meet the Lines Hand Art

Mixed emotions as I approach the final stretch, 30 hand blog posts left....feeling the pressure to keep creative juices flowing. I will see this to The End
 

Anxiety is the hand maiden of creativity ~ T.S. Eliot



Hand Art Created with Circles and Lines ~ where the circles meet the lines
 

 

Hand #334 Red Stick Person Hand

stick people don't have hands...

if they did, I think this is what they would look like

Red Stick Person Hand

Hand #333 Ink Hand Drawing

 

 

traced my hand on paper with an ink pen, added a few doodles

 

"In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can imagine" ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

 



Ink hand drawing 

 

 

Hand #332 Green Tea Bag Tag Hand

with cuticle scissors in hand, snip ~ snip, a hand from my green tea bag tag



Green Tea Bag Hand created from tea bag tag

Hand 331 Green Plastic Easter Basket Grass Hand

this was a challenge.... reminded me of the Christmas tree tinsel hand I created back in December (Hand#233 Tinsel). Here, I applied glue to paper in the shape of a hand, pressed the plastic grass to the glue and let it sit overnight to dry. When dry, I cut out hand. Made a mess with this one... I'll be finding Easter grass throughout the house. for the next few months.
This hand has character... I like it! 



Plastic Easter Basket Grass Hand

Hand #330 Yellow Marshmallow Chicks ~ Peeps

It's the season for Peeps, Marshmallow Chicks that come in many colors. My teeth hurt just touching these sugar candies.... has the same effect on me as nails on a chalkboard. Lucky for me I don't have a sweet tooth!
Selected traditional yellow Peeps for this "Sweet" hand.

Sweet Hand created from Peeps Marshmallow Chicks

Hand #329 Colorful Easter Egg Hand

It's Easter weekend! Many children are wearing their Easter Bonnets, participating in Easter Egg Hunts, and eating chocolate bunnies. 
I'm getting in on the fun with this Easter Egg "Hand" 



Colorful Easter Egg Hand

Hand #328 Kellogg's Froot Loops Cereal Hand

It's spring and I'm looking for color ... found it.... Kellogg's Froot Loops
I think this cereal makes a pretty "SWEET" hand!

Kellogg's Froot Loops Cereal Hand makes a "Sweet" hand

Hand #327 Houston Rockets Get a Grip on the Basketball

We are big Houston Rockets basketball fans! The games are exciting. I enjoy watching the players handle the basketball with one hand.... holding it there ... one hand grip... attempting to confuse the opposing player with a fake pass.... it looks as if they glued the ball to the palm of their hand! We visited the Rockets gift shop where my husband reenacted "palming" a basketball... yes, this is a child size basketball... made it easy (laughing)


Houston Rockets Basketball , example of "palm" hand grip on basketball

Hand #326 Graffiti ~ Chalk Hand on Parking Garage Wall

I asked our condo manager for permission to draw on the wall of our parking garage, up on the 6th floor, where the view's great. Permission granted, BUT it needs to be small and I have to wash it off when I'm done. Once I got up there and started... inspired to keep going and create hands.... lots of them... the urge to make a BIG hand was strong! I had to carry a bucket of water up with me to wash chalk off, making lots of chalk hand drawings out of the question.... maybe I'll get up there again right before a big rain!.....I'm hopeful!   



6 floor of parking garage chalk hand art

Hand #325 Butterfly Hand

Spring is here.... created this butterfly hand to celebrate the season



Butterfly hand to celebrate spring!

Hand #324 Fuzzy Stick Hand

love the eclectic look of this "Fuzzy Stick Hand" .... made out of pipe cleaners....



Eclectic "Fuzzy Stick Hand" made out of pipe cleaners

Hand #323 Shoe Hand Collage

It was time to throw away old magazines ... this time I searched for shoes... cut them out to create a "Shoe Hand" collage. If you are new to my Blog, check out this other hand collage, created with cut-out hands, #187 "Stars" 




Shoe Hand Collage

Hand #322 Sorbet Lipstick Art

yes, I kissed paper after each application of Sorbet Lipstick. It was a challenge to create the "hand" shape. It looks weird, but I like it ...  giggle every time I look at it! Maybe I'll create a card for my husband???  



 created this hand art with Sorbet Lipstick

hnd #321 Textiles: Yarn Hand

worked with textiles today...
picked up this heavy yarn on sale for $1.00
Yarn +  Elmer's Glue = "Yarn Hand"



Worked with textiles to create this "yarn" hand

Hand #320 "Rain" Hand Painting

Broke out the paints to create this "Rain" hand painting. Pleased with the results, think I'll frame this one!



"Rain" hand painting

Hand #319 Mary Jane Wrapper Hand

Mary Jane candy.....the taste of molasses and real peanut butter.... takes me back to my childhood days ... love the feel of the wax paper wrapper... used cuticle sissors to create this tiny hand.



hand cut-out of a Mary Jane Candy Wrapper

Hand #318 Painted Hand on the Perfect Rock

inspired by nature .... hand blog flowed over to my rock collection today.... found the perfect rock.... painted this green hand with pink heart



nature inspired green hand with heart painted rock

Hand #317 Happy St Patrick's Day

 it's March 17th... shamrock on palm of my hand... that's how my creativity flowed today...

 Happy St Patrick's Day!

 

shamrock on hand in honor of St Patrick's Day