by K.C.
October 15, 2025
I have been experiencing numbness in the fingers of my right hand for a few years. I have also lost some dexterity. This is a sad situation because I make a lot of things with my hands—and I am right handed. One day I started making a large papier mache hand without thinking about it, without realizing that it was possibly to do with my struggles. It wasn’t until I made the fingers very blocky and large (the way mine feel) and added bumps to indicate my arthritis, that I realized it was a cathartic project. Nothing about this hand is polished or anatomically correct but it was deeply satisfying to make. I keep it visible, sitting on a shelf, because seeing it scratches some sort of emotional itch.