I said on Tuesday that I thought of feathers as the fingertips of Spirit: a gentle touch, one we barely feel brushing the surface of our skin that nonetheless transmits the gift of great power. If we are lucky, one of the great raptors may leave us one of these gifts, one we then may use as a tool of communication and communion with the spirits, a means of sending our prayers heavenward, and our thanks with them.
For most people, it’s a metaphorical opportunity, not a tangible one; real raptor feathers are mostly out of reach.
But one of the Pueblo’s talented young artisans has provided a means to circumvent that barrier. His eagle feathers are hand-carved out of pale orange alabaster with painted turquoise accents: that momentary prayer of the Earth herself where light meets sky — that moment we call dawn. They are listed separately in our Other Artists: Miscellaneous Jewelry gallery here on the site. From their nearly identical descriptions:
Carver Jeremy Gomez (Taos Pueblo) has fashioned an “eagle feather” out of lightweight stone. Hand-carved of pale orange alabaster, the feather’s “shaft” is accented with tiny divots accented with turquoise-based paint. It hangs from an adjustable white deerhide thong.
Orange alabaster; blue turquoise paint; white deerhide
Longer pendant: $195 + shipping, handling, and insurance
Shorter pendant: $185 + shipping, handling, and insurance
Most orange alabaster is darker in color. Jeremy chose a stone in the shade of the morning light, a warm golden glow shot through with striations like silvery clouds. It’s a delicate color, one that appears deceptively fragile, yet is strong enough to light the whole world. Among the samples of the stone that I’ve encountered over the years, that used in these two pieces is far and away some of the most beautifully shaded. The fact that Jeremy was able to coax eagle feathers from their flowing lines feels like prayer made manifest, like earth touched by Spirit itself.
Wearing these is a chance to wear one’s own prayers, expressions of honor and respect, of gratitude and thanksgiving. More, it’s a way to transform one’s daily life, one’s very existence, into a living prayer. In times such as these, when too much of the world has given over to darker forces, it’s the light of a new day, a chance to participate in the momentary prayer of the Earth herself.
~ Aji
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