Yesterday, we looked at the role of story in Native art. With regard to Wings’s work, that means both the history that underlies the creation of each piece, and the story that it, by its very form and shape, sets out to tell.
One such example that we explored was the motif of the Corn Maidens, female spirits that exist in multiple forms and identities simultaneously. They embody the corn, represent it, nurture it, and provide it to the people as a means of sustenance. They also assume the forms of spirit beings, of human personifiers, and of artistic and cultural representations.
The Corn Maidens tell not one story, but many — but ultimately, they share an ending: a story of abundance.
Wings has paid tribute to the Maidens, to their symbolism and power, in many ways over the years. Some pieces were more overt in that regard; others more representative of their symbolism than their selves. But in recent months, he created a work that explicitly set out to honor them in both symbol and substance alike, a pair of earrings designed to complement another, related work that was representative of both the Maidens and the First Sister they both embody and protect.
That work, a necklace of complex beauty and power, has since sold, but it is the earrings that we feature here today. From their description in the Earrings Gallery here on the site:
The First Sisters Earrings
Corn is the first of the Three Sisters, those sustaining spirits that feed The People. Among the Pueblo peoples of this land, the first sister is personified by the Corn Maidens, female spirit beings whose gift is abundance. Wings has summoned them from sterling silver in this tribute to old-style Native earrings, large, bold pieces that sit at the top of the lobe and hang halfway down the neck. Each is hand-cut in an elongated teardrop. Their faces, hair, dress, and tablita headresses are created from a variety of hand-stamped traditional symbols: sun signs, crescent moons, Eyes of Spirit, running waters. At the center of each lies a single round onyx cabochon, a stone of grounding in the deep rich color of the earth from which the corn itself emerges. Earrings hang 2-7/8″ long by 7/8″ across at the widest point (dimensions approximate); on the back, extended-length sterling silver wires hold them securely in place.
Sterling silver; onyx
$725 + shipping, handling, and insurance
As manifest in these earrings, the Maidens tell many stories: of their history, and that of the people; of the spirits they represent; of the headdresses worn and the dances performed in their honor. They tell a story of the earth, of rich black soil that nurtures the corn when it is but a kernel; a story of the water, of the rains that give it life and draw it forth from the ground to stand tall and strong. They tell a story of sustenance, of life made manifest by way of the spirits’ gifts.
In the end, though, the story is, in one crucial sense, the same: It is always a story of abundance.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owners.
