Hair Pieces

What preserved trinket is less creepy than a shrunken monkey's paw but still pretty ghoulish? Answer: art made out of human hair.It exists, all right. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the craft of hairwork was all the rage, especially among the middle class. Sentimental Americans hired artists to weave the hair of loved ones — living and deceased — into jewelry, decorations, buttons, keepsakes, wreaths and, in one extreme case, an entire tea set.Author Helen Sheumaker examines this lost, largely forgotten craft in her new book, Love Entwined: The Curious History of Hairwork in America. At 7 p.m., Sheumaker will be at the Lawrence Public Library (707 Vermont) to deliver her lecture, "Love, Death, Memory: The Story of Human Hairwork." Leila Cohoon, proprietor of Leila's Hair Museum in Independence, will also be in attendance, displaying hair items from her personal collection. For more information, call 785-843-3833 or see lawrence.lib.ks.us.
Wed., Aug. 6, 2008