A day that began with abundant sun has already given itself over entirely to the clouds of snow and storm.
It’s very welcome; don’t get me wrong. But it’s also a sobering reminder, or at least it should be, for those unused to this land of just how rapidly conditions can change. Yes, the forecast is often wrong, but you ignore it at your peril, especially at this time of year.
As I’ve been writing, the horizon has nearly veiled itself fully on all sides now. Where minutes ago it was possible to see the mountain slopes, with only the peaks hidden by snow showers, now the cascade of white extends to their feet. There is no snow falling here just yet, but it’s clearly not far off now.
Meanwhile, the small birds gather at the feeders; the crows and ravens have spread out across the land, feathery black patches woven atop the snow’s white blanket. We learned yesterday that the elk had indeed visited us in the dark hours of the night before, their hoofprints linking up in lines like sleigh tracks across the north field. This is the season when this land serves most as sanctuary, as those to whom this land mass belongs follow their migratory paths to a place of refuge from the fierce winds of winter, and from fiercer predators still.
And so while this week’s Friday Feature, a single masterwork shown from different angles, might seem an odd choice for midwinter — Butterfly is, after all, one of the signal spirits of summer — it’s actually rather apt, in metaphorical terms. Butterflies are pollinators, if perhaps mostly incidental ones, and their presence here in the warm season is one sign of a healthy habitat; it’s but one reason we so look forward to their arrival when the snows at last depart. But in an alpine desert climate, precipitation is a bit like pollen; it must be routed properly across the land to do its deeply necessary work. And so what scatters the snow from the transforming sky of winter in effect “pollinates” the land with the water that keeps it alive year-round.
But back to the work itself: It’s an extraordinary example of meticulous freehand forging and traditional silversmithing techniques, with an eye-dazzling wide band and a fully-articulated focal. From its description in the relevant section of the Bracelets Gallery here on the site:
Migratory Paths Cuff Bracelet
Butterflies, small messengers who travel migratory paths, teach us that there are many ways open to us on our journey, and that change can be a gift. With this new and powerful masterwork of multiple silversmithing techniques, Wings has summoned the spirit of Butterfly and the messages she carries upon her wings to show us the dazzling array of paths available and the endless possibilities they hold. The cuff is wrought of heavy, solid sixteen-gauge sterling silver, with a classic wide, hand-cut band; it’s edged with slender borders scored freehand and chased with a repeating diamond motif. In between the borders, more graceful arcs are hand-scored using Wings’s own hand-made stamps; each enclosed space is then stamped freehand in a distinctive repeating pattern of rows and roads, collectively representing hundreds of strikes of the heavy jeweler’s hammer, every path different from every other. At the very center of the band’s outer surface sits Butterfly as you’ve never seen her before, cut and stamped entirely freehand, overlaid securely onto the surface with scalloped wings that rise to flutter freely in the space above the band. Her antennae are individually articulated; her head, an old oval cabochon of sky-blue Kingman turquoise; her body formed from four hand-made sunbursts formed of sterling silver ingot. The band is 6″ long by 2.25″ wide; the butterfly overlay is 2″ high from highest to lowest points and 2.25″ across at the widest points; her wings rise 3/8″ above the surface of the band at the highest point; turquoise cabochon is 3/8″ long by 1/4″ across; ingot sunbursts are 1/4″ across (all dimensions approximate). Other views shown above, below, and at the link.
Sterling silver; Kingman turquoise
$2,500 + shipping, handling, and insurance
The great sweeping lines and borders of this band, all the rows of tiny individual motifs, all evoke the diversity of paths open to us, the possibility and promise of the roads ahead. Some are migratory, and indeed have always been: Many Indigenous peoples the world over have always known the value of rotating living space among multiple environments throughout the year — not just for their own survival, but for that of the land and waters, as well.
It’s a natural way of preventing overuse, but it also helps to curb exploitation and greed, a lifestyle that prioritizes holistic environmental health over profit, authority, or control.
Now, of course, the sheer number of migratory paths have skyrocketed, but these are not healthy routes; these are the corridors of desperation, of headlong flight in the fight for the most basic survival, for humans and animal relatives alike.
It’s not a good thing to accustom ourselves too much to this latter development, particularly not when colonial humanity collectively refuses either to better their current circumstances or to reorganize collective structures and systems to prevent those circumstances from arising in the first place.
In our own small way here, the best that we can offer is refuge to those among our animal relatives who need sanctuary. But to do that, we need a healthy habitat: earth and sky, water and fire, wind and light in harmony.
We have had precious little harmony or health, either one, on those fronts in recent years.
And so perhaps it’s a bit easier to understand why the sight, now, of giant snowflakes falling outside the window fills us both with such joy — why every year, we look forward to winter and welcome it with open arms.
Like summer’s Butterfly, pollinating a world in need of new life and growth, what scatters the snow from the transforming sky makes both possible, too.
At this moment, the sky has transformed itself almost to pure white, and the snow is scattering far and wide. Pollinating, indeed.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
