Today dawned clear, bright, warm, and absolutely beautiful. We knew it was only temporary, that the winds would return with the middle of the day, but for a ew short hours, it was glorious: a day that finally felt entirely of spring.
That’s gone now, of course.
Oh, it’s still warm, technically; still sunny and bright, no caveats required. But the winds are back to battering everything in their path and turning the air half-wintry again.
We had to run a couple of errands in town this morning, and by the time we turned onto the main highway, it was clear that trees were leafing everywhere. We have no leaves here yet; we are that slightest a bit above on more snow line that makes ours among the last to leaf . . . but also the last to lose them in the fall. This tiny pocket of land, an upslope valley within a valley, so to speak, in many ways has its own ecosystem independent of town, county, elevation, or region.
And we do have green: buds on the weeping willows, thick bright blades of grass dancing in the wind. It is a dusty world now, and a smoky one as well, but these are the birth pangs of the summer growing season. Soon, worlds of dust and light will assume a thriving and livable form, born of the blues and greens of spring.
Today’s featured work is perfectly suited to the shades and spirits of season and day alike, pastel shades of grass and sky dotted by rich brown soil — still rich, still loamy underneath, even if the trickster winds of spring have dried its surface into dust. From its description in the Earrings Gallery here on the site:
Worlds of Dust and Light Earrings
Our cosmologies teach of multiple worlds that inhabit the same universe, our own and those inhabited by the spirits. Wings calls both into being with these earrings, worlds of dust and light that exist by virtue of the elemental powers of the cosmos, the dust of creation and the light of the first dawn. Each bold and dangling drop is formed around a central free-form cabochon of natural turquoise, its telltale earthy browns and bronzes scattered across pale greens and blues an indicator that it was likely pulled from beneath the ground of Colorado. Each cabochon is set into a smooth hand-filed bezel and trimmed with twisted silver, held fast by sterling silver wires attached via delicate silver jump rings. Each earring hangs 1-7/8″ in overall length (excluding wires); cabochons are 1-3/8″ long by 1/4″ across at the widest point (dimensions approximate).
Sterling silver; natural American turquoise (likely from Colorado)
$875 + shipping, handling, and insurance
These earrings began their life a bit differently; originally, drilled organic tabs extended from the base of each bezel, each tab holding three sterling silver wire “tassels” to catch the light. Some months back, Wings decided that their inclusion had been an error, and he removed the fringes, trimmed off the tabs, and filed the edges smooth, leaving only the bezel-set stones. Normally, I would have been disappointed; my take on earrings generally comes down to the longer the better.
Except this time.
This pair features an absolutely extraordinary (and extraordinarily costly) pair of matched stones, and what I had not realized earlier was the degree to which the “fringes” deflected attention from their beauty and power. It’s sometimes the case with paler material like this, where too much silver overwhelms the color. But the new version (also priced at $50 less than originally) is the version, the one such stones require: a perfect amount of silver to embrace them securely, to set off their beauty, and to let their creative spring shades shine.
And besides, they’re still exceptionally long — and just as exceptionally beautiful.
The rest of this day will be spent battling the winds here (and hoping for no additional ignitions on the wildfire front, as well). But the universe itself shows us that out of what seems, to mere mortal perceptions, chaos comes not merely form, but substance and fully animated, articulated spirit. Once the winds have spent themselves of their capricious mischief, we can build the remainder of our year around the new shapes of our world — one of many worlds of dust and light, yes, but this one, here, now, born of the blues and greens of spring.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
