Why Mayim Bialik Is Turning Her Placenta Into Art For Her Home

Mayim Bialik posted on her Facebook page today that she’s tapped an independent jewelry designer, Ruth Avra, to make a special piece for her. The piece, gathering from Bialik’s description, is meant to celebrate the unique bond mothers have with children during the process of pregnancy and breastfeeding. Avra makes custom pieces out of biological material, including breast milk, umbilical cords, and placenta.

While the certified lactation consultant and Big Bang Theory star has made no secret of her views on parenting, she has on occasion rubbed some people the wrong way with her views — not that Bialik really seems to care. But when it comes to unique keepsakes, Bialik is certainly not alone. She describes herself as “super sentimental,” but she’s not Avra’s only client. Indeed, the idea of using biological material as a permanent recognition of someone special is well-established in Western culture. People regularly dispose of ashes of loved ones in a meaningful way, and many mothers consume the placenta after childbirth for health or ritual reasons.

But a ring made out of preserved breastmilk? For some, that goes just a bit too far, although it’s really unclear exactly why. In an interview with Bialik’s website Grok Nation, Avra explained how a client described to her the appeal of using biological material to create wearable keepsakes.

“She says ‘This is the connection – the life blood – between me and my child. I fed my child, and grew that child for nine months in my body and this is the last remnant of that connection and that alone is special.'”

Avra explained that she uses a variety of biological remnants, including umbilical cord stubs and hair from a baby’s first cut. She works with a breast milk artisan who turns the preserved breast milk into stone. Avra later adds the metal work. The jewelry maker’s website shows different styles she’s created for clients.

During the Grok Nation interview with Avra, Bialik described herself as “a very sentimental person,” but “not a very warm mushy kind of person,” who has kept several biological remnants of her children’s births and early childhood. In a do-it-yourself attempt to make her own jewelry out of her child’s hair she began experimenting with resin herself but stopped short of using the actual hair for fear she would make a mistake and damage it. That’s one reason why she was excited to learn of Avra’s work.

Bialik is fully aware that not everyone would find the process of creating keepsakes from icky squishy things to be their cup of tea. In the interview, she noted her background in neuroscience and how Avra’s work combines her love of science and recognizing things that are special.

“I’ve always been fascinated with death and mortality, from the time I was very young, and when I studied neuroscience, I took a tremendous amount of comfort in learning about anatomy.

“This really feels like such a personality-specific way to connect to your children in a way that’s really authentic. It’s creepy and great!”

[Featured Image by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]