[Creative Nonfiction] Tree Hands
Read the winning entry for our April 2026 contest, How Artists Survive.
Tree Hands
By Claire Patton
The longer I write, the more my hands look like Eloise’s. A friend of my mother, she was all turquoise jewelry against bronze skin. She traveled, her days in orbit around adobe buildings decked out in folk art. Family money, a guarantee of time, not talent. I don’t know if she was any good, even what she did really, but she was an artist. I could tell from her hands. They were veiny, twisted things that reminded me of trees. Then there was that gesture she made: hands clasped together at her heart, moving back and forth in a plea of some kind.
I recently found a ring from my childhood. It’s simple— sterling silver with flowers around the edge and a heart-shaped amethyst at its center. Is it childish? I think it might be childish. I found it in a definitely-childish Snoopy jewelry box that plays Swan Lake. It was hidden in the plastic base, nestled among the gears. The ring stopped fitting my chubby fingers when I was fourteen— around the time I lost myself.
Eloise is gone now. She didn’t survive being an artist. I’ve survived so far. Dumb luck, if you ask me, but if it ever comes down to a choice between me and my creative output, who am I gonna choose, you know? I put it on the other day, the ring. It fit. That’s when I noticed the tree bark color of my hands, their twisted shape a story. Like hers. I’ve been peeking in the mirror from time to time, hand to my lips: my own gesture signifying something I haven’t figured out yet. I like it. A mystery yet to be solved, an answer to seek, another reason to survive.
A Note From Our Guest Judge, Mason Currey
This piece really connected for me. An intriguing premise, a lively voice, vivid details, and an emotional journey in just three paragraphs: bravo.
About Claire Patton
Claire Patton grew up in Texas. As a child, she was left mostly on her own, running wild on the mean streets of the Dallas suburbs. Claire studied English at the University of Dallas. After a disastrous attempt at teaching, she attended a physical theater school overseas. Returning home afterwards, Claire bootstrapped indie theater productions, bringing original plays to festivals in the US and Canada. Now she lives in rural Colorado, where she works as a writer and screenplay consultant.
This piece was written in response to the theme How Artists Survive.