Day after day of gathering storms, thunderheads amassing amid a trickster wind rising . . . and not a drop of rain.
The land is parched, trees and grass, too. Even the red willows are dying. It seems that the best we can hope for is to keep the garden alive, and that only if we are lucky, and to keep the wild creatures from dying. Coyote has been lurking around the edges of the land in recent days, no doubt in anticipation of prairie dogs but also, most likely, in search of water.
After a hot, humid morning, sunny and bright, the clouds have begun to move in again this afternoon. And still the forecast remains stubbornly at zero, and the sad truth of the matter is that it’s probably right.
Two nights ago, there was a small amount of water moving slowly through the main ditch, directional run-off from the main flow turned toward some other plot. By last night, it was entirely gone, dried up, the ditch itself barely even susceptible to the label “muddy.”
In this drought, we have been blessed to have even the mere half-dozen or so dragonflies that have appeared here so far this season.
In a good year, the pond would be full, plenty of runoff available to flow into it routinely. In a good year, there would be rains every day now, at least one small storm and probably more throughout the course of an afternoon. And in a good year, the dragonflies would be here in abundance, which means that our mosquito count would be far lower than it currently is. And in a place where mosquitoes now routinely carry West Nile virus, the presence of their natural predators is an unqualified good.
But beyond their obvious utility in ensuring a healthy balance in our ecosystem, dragonflies bring us another gift as well: one of extraordinary ethereal beauty, the sight of small dancing spirits whose magic and medicine are carried by wings of summer light.
In a season when their appearances are necessarily few and far between, we seek their likeness, and their gifts, in other forms and shapes. Today’s featured work — or, more accurately, works; it’s that rarest of all offerings by Wings, a collection in miniature sold as a set — embodies Dragonfly, its gifts and abilities, its beauty and medicine. In this instance, it’s two matched works consisting of three pieces total, necklace and earrings, all sold as a single set. We begin with the necklace and its bold solitary iteration of this bright wingéd being. From its description in the Necklaces Gallery here on the site:
Dancing On the Light Necklace [and Earrings Set]
Dragonflies are messengers of love and joy, small spirits dancing on the light. Wings pays tribute to their outsized power and ethereal beauty, and to the old ways of silversmithing, with this necklace-and-earrings set wrought vintage-style in sterling silver ingot. The necklace, shown in close-up below, is crafted of ingot silver, molten, poured, and hammered by hand into a roughly circular medallion, its flowing uneven edges evoking the traditional Native pendants of more than a century past. The surface is highly polished but left texturized with the ingot’s natural divots and lines. Centered upon it, Wings has evoked a dragonfly out of a collection of five separate stamped motifs: a single large hoop for the head, eight smaller hoops arcing below to form the body, two tiny waves for antennae, and two pairs of arrowhead symbols to create the wings. Not quite abstract, Dragonfly here is nonetheless highly stylized and summoned out of simple geometric shapes to dance on the silvery surface of the light. The pendant is hand-drilled at the top and hangs suspended from by a sterling silver jump ring from sturdy sterling silver snake chain. Pendant hangs roughly 1-1/8″ long by 1-1/8″ across at the widest point; chain is 20″ long (dimensions approximate). Matching earrings are shown in close-up in the Earrings Gallery; sold as a set.
Sterling silver ingot
$625 + shipping, handling, and insurance
Necklace and earrings are all wrought in vintage style, hammered ingot stamped freehand to summon the spirits from the silver. The dragonflies on the earrings are virtual mirror images of each other, but they are not a perfect match to their larger sibling on the necklace; they are tended to complement rather than copy exactly, each work retaining its own unique spirit even as it remains inextricably intertwined with its counterpart.
And both the earrings and the small spirits that adorn them do appear to dance. From their description in the Earrings Gallery:
Dancing On the Light Earrings [and Necklace Set]
Dragonflies are messengers of love and joy, small spirits dancing on the light. Wings pays tribute to their outsized power and ethereal beauty, and to the old ways of silversmithing, with this necklace-and-earrings set wrought vintage-style in sterling silver ingot. The earrings, shown in close-up below, are crafted of ingot silver, molten, poured, and hammered by hand into roughly circular medallions, their flowing uneven edges evoking the traditional Native earrings of more than a century past. The surface of each is highly polished but left texturized with the ingot’s natural divots and lines. Centered upon each, Wings has evoked a dragonfly out of a collection of three separate stamped motifs: twelve tiny hoops for head and gracefully curving body, two gently swaying stalks for antennae, and two zigzagging pairs of symbols that represent, variously, lightning and flowing water to create the wings. Not quite abstract, Dragonfly here is nonetheless highly stylized and summoned out of simple geometric shapes to dance on the silvery surface of the light. The pendant is hand-drilled at the top and hangs suspended from by a sterling silver jump ring from sturdy sterling silver snake chain. Earrings hang roughly 1″ long by 7/8″ across at the widest point, excluding wires (dimensions approximate). Matching necklace is shown in close-up in the Necklaces Gallery; sold as a set.
Sterling silver ingot
$625 + shipping, handling, and insurance
This set is remarkable for its simplicity, its spare geometric outlines and stampwork. It’s equally remarkable for its otherworldly shimmer, the hammered silver refracting the light.
And it serves as a reminder to us, in the face of pandemic and drought and so much destruction, that there is still beauty to be had, still medicine to protect us, to heal us and our world with it. There may be no water at the moment, but we are still held aloft — still carried by wings of summer light.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2020; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
