Sometimes, in order to fly, one needs a new pair of wings.
That was the case, in a sense, with today’s featured piece.
We’ve spent much of this week exploring themes of flight, of the spirits that still soar upon the winds of this threshold season when Autumn is not yet fully here (nor is it supposed to be), and Summer, though preparing to journey onward, has not yet bid its final farewells. Much of this exploration has centered around the living creatures who make their Summer homes with us: the birds, the bees, the butterflies, the dragonflies. And while the temperatures grow steadily colder and too many trees have already traded green for orange and gold, a few of those hardy spirits in the smaller families yet remain.
Today’s piece reminds me of those brave spirits, still here in the face of all odds, yet due to take flight for a Winter (and indeed more permanent) home. But Wings felt that this small creature, memorialized in silver, needed some new metaphorical wings of its own if it were to be able to fly.
And so, the work shown in the photo above has been altered slightly. It’s not the pendant itself that has changed; the little dragonfly remains the same, hovering above waters of shining silver ingot, a pool of darker blue on one side and a flower on the other. But what gives him the ability, as a pendant, to “fly” — to hover and dance around the throat of a special wearer, someone for whom Spirit intends his particular symbolism — is the strand of beads from which he hangs. And he was out of place, lost, stuck upon a current that was never his own.
Today, Wings changed all that.
Now, instead of a half-dozen busy strands of (relatively) inexpensive tube beads in too many colors, he hovers at the end of a single strand of silver and stone: beautiful cobalt and indigo lapis beads cut and drilled to look like Eyes of Spirit, interspersed here and there with segments of brushed sterling silver round beads, the deep waters and the surface shimmer. At either end, a short segment of beads made from fellow water spirits, tiny traditional heishi in a pale shining hue, finish off the strand. And from the center, Dragonfly dances surrounded by the colors of the water that is his natural habitat.
From the piece’s description in the Necklaces Gallery here on the site:
Pollination
A delicately-patterned skimmer spreads his paired wings, an overlay atop this old-style sterling silver ingot pendant. To his left, a single water drop is solidified in a cobalt blue bit of lapis lazuli; to his right, the tiny blossom he pollinates industriously. The vintage-style medallion hangs from a strand of cobalt-blue lapis beads cut in diamond shapes, interspersed with round sterling silver beads in a Florentine finish; each strand ends in a short segment of tiny ivory-colored olivella shell heishi. The strand of beads is 18 inches long; the pendant is 1-3/8 inches long (excluding bail, which adds another 3/8″) by 1.25 inches across at the widest point (dimensions approximate). Close-up view of pendant shown below.
Sterling silver; lapis lazuli; olivella-shell heishi
$325 + shipping, handling, and insurance
SOLD
You will note that, despite the greatly increased value of the beads, the cost of the work remains the same. Wings didn’t feel right raising it to a price commensurate with the new materials, since the pendant has been on offer at this price point. Which means that it’s better than a bargain, better than getting it on sale (and since he virtually never puts his work on sale in any way, shape, or form, it’s unique opportunity).
Dragonfly, as he appears in this version, looks and feels as though he’s finally at home in the larger completed work. Now, it’s time for him to find a different kind of home, the one Spirit always intended for him.
Now, with new “wings,” he can finally fly.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owners.
