The forecast has been mostly right in recent days, if sometimes only just technically, no more than a few random drops here and there. Yesterday was another story, with a classic monsoonal cloudburst that settled into a steady rain of a short but decent length. But three and four days ago, the skies were busy conjuring rain of real force and duration, and today is projected to deliver more.
To call this weather welcome is to understate the case by several orders of magnitude.
At this time last year, we had no rains at all, nor had we had any up to that point; summer was as arid as the ash of a long-dead fire.
This year, at least, we have more than a minimal amount of precipitation; not enough to extract us from a drought of now some twenty years’ duration, but enough at least to keep the earth here breathing, alive.
There is much more conjuring rain to be done. Today’s featured work, the embodiment of both act and result, is perhaps a start. From its description in the Accessories Gallery here on the site:
Rain Barrette
In the desert, rain is the gift of life. In the midst of near-unprecedented drought, Wings honors the birth of the monsoon season with his latest barrette, formed of medium-gauge sterling silver in a gentle arc, hand-milled in a dot-and-dash pattern that evokes the vertical fall of the heavy summer rain. In the center, a single large raindrop of deep cobalt blue lapis lazuli sits in a handmade bezel elevated above the barrette’s surface by means of a tiny hand-made silver post. At either end, hand-drilled holes hold the pick, a length of sterling silver half-round wire meticulously stamped in an alternating pattern representing cascading water, anchored at one end by a small high-domed oval lapis cabochon so deeply hued as to appear violet, and held securely by a saw-toothed bezel. The barrette is 3-5/16″ long by 1-3/4″ high; the large teardrop lapis cabochon is 1-1/16″ long by 3/8″ across at the widest point; the pick is 3-7/8″ long by 3/16″ across (save at the bezel); the small oval lapis cabochon is 3/8″ long by 1/4″ across at the widest point (dimensions approximate).
Sterling silver; lapis lazuli
$850 + shipping, handling, and insurance
And now, as morning slowly spirals toward midday, the clouds amass in the west, building themselves into walls and towers across a gradually darkening sky. We may get the rain of yesterday — or we may instead be blessed with the long heavy storms of a few nights ago.
However much or little the skies deliver, it will, at some point, materialize as if by magic, some secret alchemy only the spirits know, and we will be grateful for it.
And then our prayers resume, to convince the spirits to conjure it anew tomorrow.
~ 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.
