Guide These, My Hands

Artist Danielle Hatch and poet Traci Rae Manos with their public art installation, Guide These, My Hands at Train Station Park, 400 S. Main St.

GuideTheseMyHands_Install_17

Guide These, My Hands is a sculpture in fabric, embroidery thread, and steel created by sculptor Danielle Hatch and poet Traci Rae Manos. Traci’s poem Foothills Healer is hand-sewn into a continuous ruffle made of 126 yards of weatherproof nylon. The artwork honors the compassion and resilience of the women of Northwest Arkansas and celebrates traditional folk medicine practiced in the Ozark Mountains. The magenta fabric evokes the flower of the wild burdock plant, known for its medicinal properties. 

Poem embroidered into the artwork...

Poem-Image

The following videos and photos document the fabrication and installation of the artwork...

Embroidering the poem onto the fabric.

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Embroidering the poem onto the fabric.

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Installation at Train Station Park

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    Bentonville, AR 72712

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Foothills Healer in English (pdf)

Foothills Healer in Spanish (pdf)

Foothills Healer in Hmong (pdf)

 

Special Thanks

Thank you to the 22 volunteers - all women living in Northwest Arkansas - who helped embroider the artwork.

  • Michelle Baker
  • Meredith Bergstrom
  • Keely Brice
  • Diana Cascante
  • Chelsea Carskaddon
  • Maria Conroy
  • Charlotte Darling
  • Tabbitha Easley
  • Nicole Hansen
  • Kristin Johnson
  • Alice Kelly
  • Rebecca Kelly
  • Kirsten Mason
  • Tara Norwood
  • Anna Peterson
  • Jocelyn Peterson
  • Steph Piston
  • Trisha Posey
  • Loretta Radeke
  • Karen Sasine
  • Rikki Skopp
  • Bethany Smith

Thank you to the translators of the poem into Spanish and Hmong:

  • Jimena Fernandez
  • Dr. Lou Cha

Thank you to the fabricator of the steel frame:

  • Emily Baker

Media Coverage

 

-Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette: What's Up section: "Layers of Meaning: Art and poetry speak to resilience of women" by Janelle Jessen appears (March 21)

 

-Visit Bentonville: "International Women's Day 2021: Celebrating the Women Who Create, Lead & Inspire" by Aaron Mullins (March 5)

 

-Siloam Springs Herald Leader: "Layers of Meaning: A Siloam Springs poet collaborates on a Bentonville art installation" by Janelle Jessen (March 7)

 

-Good Day NWA: "Public Art, Pro-Cycling, and How to Get Cheesy" by Jason Suel (March 16)


-Free News Weekly "Layers of Meaning: Art and Poetry Speak to Resilience of Women" (March 26)