It has been snowing for about twenty-one hours straight, with apparently much more to come.
On a day ostensibly devoted to expressions of love, it’s hard to find a more perfect demonstration of the Earth’s love for us now.
Of course, with the snow comes the cold, and this time, the two have arrived together. More often, the deep freeze follows the storm, but at midday, the mercury is barely out of single digits, and the wind chill still hovers near zero. This is a real winter storm, the kind this land has not seen for far too long.
Of course, the cold means that it’s also a day to stay indoors by the fire as much as possible. Both of our woodstoves are blazing: one right behind my chair as I write; the other, larger one on the opposite side of the house that is both proof against the fierce southwest winds and capable of sending the heat spiraling up the stairs. The crimson edges of the embers create a powerful contrast with the white blanketing the landscape outside the window, and remind me that, romantic and otherwise, we are blessed with a love as elemental as fire.
Today’s featured work is the embodiment of the love, the fire, and the blessing simultaneously. From its description in the relevant section of the Bracelets Gallery here on the site:
A Fire In the Heart Cuff Bracelet
A fire in the heart keeps body and spirit warm. Wings creates a tribute to the flames of love and devotion with a pair of precious metals and one’s crimson castoffs. The heart cabochon is wrought from the pure fire of molten gold, cooled and hardened into the glossy material known as Rosarita (gold slag). It sits in the embrace of a scalloped bezel, the better to set off its domed surface; both rest atop a heart-shaped backing, cut freehand with a jeweler’s saw, that extends just beyond the bezel’s edges to limn the stone in silver. The setting rests atop the center of a slender band of solid sterling silver, heavy-gauge and highly polished on the surface, with a silken Florentine finish on the inner band. The cuff is 6″ long by 5/16″ across; the setting is 7/8″ high between highest and lowest points by 7/8″ across at the widest point; the heart-shaped cabochon is 3/4″ high between highest and lowest points by 3/4″ across at the widest point (dimensions approximate). Additional views shown below.
Sterling silver; Rosarita (gold slag)
$1,025 + shipping, handling, and insurance
Outside, the wind is howling now, the snow blowing nearly horizontal. Our adobe home is so solid that it’s rare that we can hear the wind (or much else) at all. Only the wild birds are abroad at the moment, some resting atop the feeder perches, others scrapping with each other over the suet and the planters. They’re fine in this weather, their bodies warm as tiny furnaces. At the moment, even the dogs are happier playing in the snow than being inside where it’s warm, although that will change when the day grows short.
We are blessed to have shelter, for us and for them; blessed that the spirits’ gift to us on this day signifying love is one so desperately needed, and one that the land will put immediately to use. Even in the bitter cold, mercury below zero and snow flying, it’s the gift of a love as elemental as fire.
~ Aji
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