Now that spring is finally here, the world seems infused with magic: ethereal light, fast-flowing water, blue-winged teals in the pond, and an earth in free flower.
The blue-winged teals were a surprise, their visit last night a bit of spirit medicine at a time when my own spirit was feeling especially low, a casualty of chronic pain and fatigue. These water birds are indigenous to all of Turtle Island, including that portion of it now known as Canada, but they are considered rare birds here in our corner of this land mass. Indigenous, yes; regular inhabitants or common visitants, no. but there they were in the pond yesterday evening, a family of three enjoying the suddenly-deep waters in the soft light of the gathering dusk.
And it’s not just the visitors. At this mid-point of spring, our whole world has changed suddenly, and very much for the better. The light is infused with a mystical quality, shimmering at dawn and glowing at dusk, and it in turn infuses the land with its magic. The water is now deep enough to reflect the sky near-perfectly, and both are the same rich shade of cornflower blue. And while the wild cornflowers themselves will not blossom yet for a few weeks, there are plenty of other blooms already dancing with wild abandon in the light: the blossoms on the pear and chokecherry trees; the tulips and dandelions, some of the latter now gone to wispy white fluff floating on the wind; the tiny gold and magenta petals attached to what the outside world dismisses as weeds.
On this day, our world here is beautiful.
Today’s featured work captures this beauty, and the magic spirit that accompanies it, too. It’s one of Wings’s newest works, completed less than a week ago, and one of my new favorites. From its description in the relevant section of the Bracelets Gallery here on the site:
Wildflowers Cuff Bracelet
Wildflowers paint a summer earth with color and light. Wings summons a profusion in soft yet brilliant shades, scattered along the length of this cuff in sharp relief. The band is formed of sterling silver hand-milled in a repeating pattern of large blossoms, each formed of multiple bold teardrop-shaped petals and arrayed in a random fashion. Across the length of the band, four of the flowers show their center pistils to the light; at each of these points is set a small round cabochon of a different color: citrine, aquamarine, amethyst, and peach moonstone. Each jewel is set into a saw-toothed bezel, creating an effect of petals within petals. The band is buffed to a high polish, allowing the flowers to seem to dance in the light. Cuff is 6″ long by 1″ high; cabochons are 3/16″ across (dimensions approximate). Other views shown below.
Sterling silver; citrine; aquamarine; amethyst; peach moonstone
$825 + shipping, handling, and insurance
I love the glowing surface of the band, the texture of the millwork flowers thrown into sharp perceptible relief. But the thing that makes it, I think, is the stones he used to form the pistils, each a different color of the full spring light.
There is, from left, the soft peach glow of the dawn and the deep amethyst of the clouds across a sunset sky. There is the crystal blue of the day, the same translucent, shimmering shade as the waters, and brilliant golden glow of the sun itself.
It’s a strand of precious metal studded with jewels, all gifts of the earth, each a different hue from the palette of the light.
I am not, for a variety of reasons, usually much given to flowery imagery or soft pastel shades; I am much more at home in the bold deep colors of the storm. But occasionally, Wings creates a piece that upends my usual orientations, drawing me close to another aspect of our beautiful, mystical world. This is one.
We have just entered the season of the wildflowers’ birth, one that transcends the boundary between spring and summer, one whose beginning assures us that the latter’s long light and warmer winds are indeed nearly here.
It reminds us, too, after a long gray winter and the harsh unsettled caprice of early spring, of the colors of our world, of the beauty of an earth in free flower.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
