One of the sections from the book “A Natural History of the Senses” that I chose as inspiration for my touch excerise was “Tattoo”. Being a fan of tattoos as well as someone who appreciates and practices hand poke tattooing I decided to carve a hand grip from a piece of cedar. The process involved sanding curves using a dremal tool in order to achieve a comfortable grip, followed by multiple rounds of hand sanding with fine sandpaper. Finally a hole was drilled completely through the piece in order for the needle to fit snug.
A quote in the reading that grabbed my attention, “Sandi Fellamn explains her attraction to tattoos as an infatuation with paradox: “Beauty created through brutal means,” “power bestowed at the price of submission,” “the glorification of the flesh as a means to spirituality."
The second section from the book that intrigued me was “What is a touch?”. I found this to be an interesting question, I mean, how do you explain “a touch”. When touch is experienced “we set in motion our complex web of touch receptors, making them fire by exposing them to a sensation..”
With those thoughts in my head I began to create with my end result to be a sculpted and designed wooden knife. An item id assume almost everyone knows the touch of, whether it was on accident or purpose. A knife holds the touch of the cold metal or the unmistakably sharp blade. I sanded down the piece of cedar to my desired size and shape. Then I used a wood burner to create a design.
A picture I took of my cat reminded me of the "Hair" section of the chapter. How cats whiskers are really sensitive, and when the hair is touched it sends vibrations to the nerves.
