Crafty Manolo

Before we get started, I want to apologize for the lack of posts this week. Fevers are conducive to crossed, unfocused eyes, not writing intelligible sentences. But I’m better now and back to work. so let’s hit the ground running, guys!

I adore this brooch by artist Melanie Bilenker. Such a charming, quiet moment observed with simplicity and grace. So what’s it made of? Let me see… ebony, gold, resin, pigment, and hair. That’s right, hair. Melanie Bilenker’s hair, to be precise.

No etching techniques, as you might expect at first glance. Instead of an etching tool, Melanie places her lines with strands of hair.

Her inspiration is historical and sentimental:

The Victorians kept lockets of hair and miniature portraits painted with ground hair and pigment to secure the memory of a lost love. In much the same way, I secure my memories through photographic images rendered in lines of my own hair, the physical remnants. I do not reproduce events, but quiet minutes, the mundane, the domestic, the ordinary moments.

Go check out her work. It’s amazing.

Oh Mr. Twistie? If you’re wondering what I’d like for my birthday, this is a hint.

Well, that or a shopping spree at the Nikon 1 from Jessops. I’l like that, too.

via

See those flowers? They’re made of human hair. In point of fact, this wreath was made from the hair of fifteen different people.

Hairwork was once a popular craft, though it’s fairly rare today. Sometimes it was made up into display pieces like this one, but it was more often used to make rings, brooches, and other small pieces of jewelry. In fact, it was often referred to as ‘jewelry of sentiment.’

That sentiment could be quite varied, too. While hairwork is often associated with mourning, it was also popular for lovers to trade hair jewelry and was also made up to give friends and family members who were about to go on long journeys or move long distances. A parent might have a piece made of hair from his or her children. In the days before Polaroids, hairwork was a good way to keep a small piece of a loved one close.

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