Boston - February 28, 2007

Pull Your Hair Out

Melanie Bilenker Jewelry

Rapunzel was onto something.

She let down her golden locks and Prince Charming found her. A few years later, tortured 17th-century saps carried around lockets of loved ones’ hair. Seems a romantic can’t go wrong by putting their head on the line for love.

So it’s no wonder that we’re smitten with Melanie Bilenker’s jewelry. Each brooch, necklace, ring, and pendant is made with bits of the artist’s own mane.

By setting individual strands into epoxy resin, she creates life-like vignettes of routine moments, like hands cutting an apple or a woman drawing a bath. Despite their small scale, each maintains the depth and scope of a full-size painting, which is why she makes only about a dozen each year and they cost a pretty penny.

Wear one and you’ll always carry a little piece of reality captured in stone.

A very romantic notion indeed.

Available at Sienna Gallery, 80 Main Street, Lenox (413-637-8386). To see styles, go to melaniebilenker.com.