Stars at Hands, Instead is a calligram of hands using the poem “And Death Shall Have No Dominion” by Welsh Poet Dylan Thomas. The poem was typed in American Typewriter over and over, and further contorted to make the rounded shape of the fingers and hands. The background is the letters from the word “stars” in a repeated, falling pattern to represent falling stars.

The name comes from the line in the poem that says “They shall have stars at elbow and foot,” but instead it is hands, cupping the stars, so it is Stars at Hands, Instead.

This piece was displayed at the McHenry County College FVC High School Exhibition in 2022.