4 x 5″ Mixed Media (Hair – both straight and braided), ink and thread

My friend Mary cut my hair for me yesterday – chopping off a good six inches from my front locks to give me bangs. She did a great job and it was fun to see such a big chunk disappear. She asked what I wanted to do with the hair, and at first I thought, throw it away. But instead I asked her to set it aside.

I’d like to say that I get why people may want to keep a soft ringlet from their baby’s first haircut, or that keeping the 20 inches of hair that they chopped off long ago is kind of fun or sentimental. But if I’m going to be perfectly honest. I don’t get it. Perhaps this is because I’ve never had a baby and never really been attached to my hair. To me, stray hairs are kind of gross. I don’t like finding them in the sink or the bathtub, so why in the world would I actually want to keep them?

Using the remains of my haircut and some ink, I opted to explore the strangeness of keeping locks of hair for day 49’s piece. I was a bit grossed out while manipulating the hair but I actually really like the design. Even at that, I don’t think there is a big buyer’s market for this one on Etsy.