the hair

[roundabout]

The strange hair on the one side of the head!  Some locks are straight and some are curled...some are forked and some are single....some might be pointing in different directions...I've been trying to figure out what they're saying.  I'm thinking this is one of the smaller puzzles that would help to understand the rest of the puzzle. 

I count 25 strands including the really light ones (unless I missed one) which would fit in with the alphabet.  I've tried 4 or 5 different methods on this intriguing hair, including the obvious methods, but so far no luck.  I was thinking it would probably be something sound-related.  Earlier I was thinking it could be a binary code, like Morse, for the straight/curly (especially since Morse code is sound-based) but I can't get that to work.  The hair is floating, or maybe flowing in the wind, and this reminds me of what it says on the bottom, "the words you seek float through the air".

Then I thought, maybe we're supposed to look at the directions the strands are floating in.   But that doesn't relate to sounds, and they're only pointing in a few directions.

The gears in the background (to her left) remind me of a clock.  And is she wearing a watch?  Isn't there something is on her right wrist?  But again, the hair is only pointing in a few directions.

I always tend to make it more complicated than it really is.  It's probably something really simple I'm just overlooking.

[roundabout]

I think I get it, or at least I think I do get what's supposed to be done with it. I haven't figured out how to do it yet, of course, but if it's what I'm thinking, this is a really fun cool puzzle!

Never mind about most everything I said above - lol! I trying to control my tendency to go off on tangents!

[maskerade]

Great job solving the hair!

[roundabout]

No I haven't solved the hair yet - I wish I could say I have. I think I get what to do with it, but I've just started to try it, and haven't succeeded yet.

[cowlazars]

anyone get anywhere on this one?

[Parsival]

I see letters, but haven't figured if they spell anything. The first strand that curls to the right(clockwise)could be an "S" then the next a "T". I also see an "E", "G" and "Y". The one I think might be a "T" could also be a "CR". My last thought is that the right hand curl (clockwise) is the beginning of a letter and the left hand curl (counter clockwise) is the end of a letter.
Just a theory but not proven....

[roundabout]

Well I tried for a long time but I can't find anything in the curls yet myself, I mean the curls as a puzzle by themselves (Although I do see how the hair in general is important.) The author did say on Facebook yesterday that not every single detail in the painting was used to hide a message (not those exact words but that's the gist of it anyway). I don't know about you, but I've gone every which way with the magnifying glass trying to figure out every aspect those curls, and I've come up dry on that....so I'm thinking maybe I was just getting lost in the woods there with the curls, and couldn't see the forest for the woods. I do see how they fit into a bigger picture though.

[rarbowen]

I really think I am going to go blind myself from looking at that hair! I have spent hours on it and have tried everything I can possibly think of to do with no luck. If solving the puzzle depends upon solving the hair, I might as well drop out now. I am fairly sure I know how to get a clue from the hair, but it's just not working for me. Congrats to anyone who solved this part.

[balloonsrfun]

Why did you post this? Those are the Kennedy's right?

[roundabout]

I was going to let the hair go because I couldn't see how it would work, but now I'm really convinced there is a puzzle in it. Does anyone else think we might have to use a mirror for parts of the hair? All the symbols except for a couple are the same when you mirror-image them horizontally. I just wonder if anyone is trying a mirror. (Instead of using a mirror, you could also just look at it from the other side of the page, through a light - it would probably do the same thing.)

[meg]

I honestly don't know what to do with this puzzle anymore. I've cracked and deciphered as many things as I could find. I feel like I'm at the final stage, but i keep staring at, and trying to manipulate my information to no avail. I really hope someone finds the solution soon. Good luck!

[rarbowen]

Right there with you, Meg, and have been for a while now.  I look at it everyday to see if anything new pops out, but it doesn't.  I "think" I know the answers, but have no idea what the questions are.  I am sure you puzzle workers understand what I mean.  Hat off to anyone who figures the questions out.

[razorback]

I’m stuck on the alchemy symbols.  If you deciphered those, then I would have thought they would be the 2 questions we are looking for.  I was positive that I had figured out how to decipher the alchemy symbols, but all I got was gibberish.

[artofhiddenmessages]

Ah...the hair. Starting with the top curls on the left side of her head, apply Morse Code:

.... = h
. = e
._. = r
._. = r
.. = i
._ = n
_ _ . = g

. = curl
_ = straight piece

[karebear]

“Herring” as in red herring?

If I ever make a puzzle (not sure if I’m smart enough) I’m going to put in a few red herrings just because I’m mean I’m kidding (maybe).