A day that began in the cold slate of clouds is now leafing out into warm golden sun. “Warm” is relative, of course; the mercury has made it only as far as the mid-thirties, and if the forecast holds, won’t go much farther.
Which is, frankly, a good thing.
Early winter here (and it is winter; no doubt on that score) should be cold, and this year’s temperatures are far closer to what we should expect than last year’s were . . . and yet, still so far from “normal.” An earth heating from within and without makes its effects known, and we see them here in real time. In this place, warmth should come from shelter and fire, brick and mortar and the dried wood of trees felled on their own, not from a sun whose rays are too able to reach us thanks to human destruction of the atmosphere.
Still, there is snow on the way, at least if the forecast can be believed — by tomorrow, continuing through the weekend and into Monday. If it arrives, it will feel much more like the waning days of the Earth’s own year here. As we count down the hours to the Solstice, and the new year that follows, we revel in the winter weather, in the warming fires in the woodstoves and the spicy scent of woodsmoke that hangs low over the valley. In early winter, this is a world of cool slate blues and cedar’s golden fire.
Today’s featured work is made of both, formed and shaped into a figurative work that reminds us to heed the call of tradition, the words of wisdoms’s song. From its description in the Other Artists: Sculpture gallery here on the site:
This traditional sculpture by carver Paul Dancebow (Taos Pueblo) is done in classic Pueblo style. Carved of cedar, his upturned face is finely detailed, as is his long hair, tied back in traditional style. He’s wrapped in a blanket, and his body curves gently, following the natural line of the wood. He stands atop an alabaster base, golden in color with silver-white matrices throughout. Another view shown below.
Cedar on alabaster base
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The sights and smells of piñon are what the outside world most associates with this place at this season, but cedar is a staple of winter, too — indeed, year-round. Cedar is used in smudging and purification, and we burn it in our woodstoves and fireplaces for a wonderfully fragrant scent/ it’s also susceptible to carving, and local sculptors make good use of red, white, and yellow varieties, the latter two of which produce this warm golden glow. Here, yellow cedar takes shape as an elder at song, perhaps at prayer; indeed, the two are often one and the same.
The stand, though, is what has always made this piece for me. It’s a small pedestal of lightly polished alabaster, but this is no ordinary alabaster. It’s one that evokes the local geologic formations, included with lines of blue-gray Pilar slate and infused with shimmering bits of quartzite and pyrite: gold and blue and silver all banded together, compressed over eons of time, into a burnished, glowing jewel of a base, the perfect counterpoint to the fiery shade of the wood.
And now, despite the sun, the clouds are moving in, veiling the brilliance of Father Sun’s glow, turning the world a dusky cool blue once again. Real winter is around the corner, snow and sub-zero cold already both in view. Today will be a contesting of shades and spirits, of cool slate blues and cedar’s golden fire, and in the end, they will both win out. So will we.
~ Aji
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