MAKE IT SNUGGLE IN THE PALM

My samples are developing in a more sculptural, sensory direction. Using a variety of textured yarns and decoration to develop contrasting surface textures creates a sensory experience in itself. Experimenting with glow in the dark yarns and considering lighting in my work in the form of lanterns etc, adds another element to the experience.

“Make it Snuggle in the Palm” by Roy Sheldon and Egmont Arens, a chapter taken from The Book of Touch, conveys just how much touch, as one of our senses, influences so many aspects of our lives, whether that be subconsciously or not:

“Every day the average person makes hundreds of judgments in which the sense of touch casts the deciding vote, whether or not it rises into the consciousness. Seemingly unreasoned likes or dislikes, attractions and repulsions, may be accounted for by this sense. Such simple judgments … hinge upon how these things feel in the hands; their acceptance or rejection is motivated by the unconscious.”

After our eyes make a decision of approval, our hands reach out to make the final decision. Do we like the material? The texture? How does it feel against our skin? Does it create multiple sensations in our hands? What does this texture remind us of? Familiar sensations or new ones? Like or dislike? Accept or reject?

“Somewhere in the chain of evolution the hands took over from cats whiskers and became the principle organs of the sense of touch. They became the symbol of emotions.”

Our own memories and experiences can be triggered by the sense of touch, they also have a huge impact on how we react to certain sensations and therefore mould our decisions:

“Dr. Watson, the American behaviourist has demonstrated by experiments with children what deep emotions can be conditioned into a subject through the sense of touch…While you let you baby touch a rabbits fur, give out a loud “Booh!” Repeat if necessary. The child will in a short space develop a positive terror of furred objects. Such an unreasonable fear may persist into adult life as an obsession. In fact, few adults are without some such scar on their psyche, the result of conditions during infancy. All of which goes to show what a powerful role the sense of touch plays in our lives, whether we know it or not.”

Personally I know that since being a small child to current day, I have always found comfort through the sense of touch. I have grown up obsessed with feeling things, toys, clothes, accessories, interiors etc. For example, not only holding onto but treasuring a childhood toy because of the comfort gained by massaging the soft, fluffy ears in my hand, the feeling of familiarity thats been consistent in my life in times of need. The emotional connection developed is irreplaceable and creates a feeling of safety and comfort that something else couldn’t. The sensation having only positive calming and relaxing effects.

My interest in knitting and working with textural yarns stemmed from the addictive hobby of forming a textile with your hands, feeling the yarns looping and seeing something beautiful develop through the movement of my hands and fingers. Knitting itself has been known to have positive effects on our mental health, but only recently has the potential of the collaboration of knitting and mindfulness been acknowledged as a cure for illness. Not only for positive mental effects but it can even be a cure for pain.

The Mindfulness in Knitting : Meditations on craft and calm by Rachael Matthews is a charming yet informative book acknowledging the relationship between the collaboration:

“Knitting and mindfulness have worked together over millennia to guide us through our growth. The utterly absorbing process of creating textiles provides us with an informal meditation space while connecting us with a heritage we cherish and ultimately a universe we understand.”