Saturday, August 3rd at the Angelica Free Library 1:30 pm
From the Belvidere Cornerstone,
Join Susan Doran on her journey representing Angelica, NY, as an artist in the 2024 Rural and Traditional Arts Fellowship. Susan will be holding a presentation titled “The Lost Art of Sentimental Hairwork”, where you can learn more about this unique art form. Crafted meticulously from human hair, Victorian Hair Wreaths showcase elaborate designs, intricately twisted or braided to evoke the beauty of floral arrangements.
The artwork created over the summer will be titled “Community Unity Wreath” and will be made from the hair of Allegany County residents, reminiscent of practices from the 1800s. If you wish, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute to the project by donating a lock of hair. Each lock symbolizes an individual, but when interwoven together, they will form a showpiece representing the community.
Susan is about one half of the way through the project with over 70 flowers made. She will continue to form all the locks of hair given through the end of September into various floral shapes. If you are interested in being represented in the Community Unity Wreath you can attend a presentation or demonstration or simply mail a lock of hair to the Belvidere Cornerstone, P.O. Box 24, Belmont, NY 14813.
Presentations will be held throughout Allegany County, including at the Angelica Free Library on Saturdays, August 3rd and September 28th, at 1:30 pm, the Cuba Library, Tuesday August 13th at 6:00 pm and the Wellsville David A. Howe Library Wednesday, September 4th at 6:00 pm. The public is also invited to witness the creative process firsthand by visiting the Belvidere Cornerstone on several occasions to observe the wreath gradually taking shape.
The Wreath will be assembled and put into the frame during the Allegany Artisan Tour October 19th and 20th from 9am-5pm. It will also be part of a Gallery Talk given at 1:00 pm at the Genesee Village and Museum on November 2nd in Mumford, NY
Funding for this project is made possible with support from the New York State Council on the Arts, with support from the Governor’s Office and the New York State Legislature, and is administered by the Arts Council for Wyoming County.
For more information and a schedule of presentations, please visit Belvidere Cornerstone, or follow the Belvidere Cornerstone on Facebook and Instagram.
