Morning, and only one single twinned thread of cloud drifting above the horizon of the southern sky. What has returned is the haze from what remains of the giant wildfire, an also-thin pall of faint yellow-gray.
The extent to which it clears remains to be seen. After all, the weather forecast for today has fluctuated from highs of a 58% chance of rain all the way down to 5%; as of this moment, it seems to be splitting the preverbal difference at 34%.
As I write, though, I write not on the site itself, because our power has gone out since I began this post. Reportedly, a truck hit a pole, and in a place with exorbitant rates but no redundancy whatsoever, such events are fatal to the area grid. It likewise remains to be seen whether this will post today — and whether we shall have something as basic as water and light.
Outside, though, there is plenty of light at the moment, if no imminent water. Also as I have been writing, a few tiny stray puffs of white have appeared, conjured seemingly out of nothing but the turquoise sky that surrounds them. They seem benign now, even delicate, but by afternoon they will likely have grown and coalesced into great walls of gray and gathering storm.
We can only hope that the storm chooses to visit us.
The soil remains rich, and a bit on the damp side after all the recent rain. Our hope is that it is rich enough to permit planting, cultivation, growth, although realistically, we know that it may not be. Its chemical composition has already been altered sufficiently, after al, to deprive multiple trees and red willow stands of life.
But hope is a stubborn thing, and we know that the dust of creation is animated by the spirits. Even at its most healthy and balanced, the soil here has always tended toward a chalky consistency in the dry seasons, and yet every year, the spirits managed to summon, from dust, an earth well and whole. It’s not a hope too attenuated to believe that it could happen again now.
Today’s featured work makes this hope real, distilling the results of the great cosmic forces to their tangible essence. It’s a pair of earrings that, a bit like our land now, have undergone their own transformation since their first moment of creation, Wings realizing, belatedly, that his initial design detracted from their power and so stepping in to correct it.
From their description in the Earrings Gallery here on the site:
Worlds of Dust and Light Earrings
Our cosmologies teach of multiple worlds that inhabit the same universe, our own and those inhabited by the spirits. Wings calls both into being with these earrings, worlds of dust and light that exist by virtue of the elemental powers of the cosmos, the dust of creation and the light of the first dawn. Each bold and dangling drop is formed around a central free-form cabochon of natural turquoise, its telltale earthy browns and bronzes scattered across pale greens and blues an indicator that it was likely pulled from beneath the ground of Colorado. Each cabochon is set into a smooth hand-filed bezel and trimmed with twisted silver, held fast by sterling silver wires attached via delicate silver jump rings. Each earring hangs 1-7/8″ in overall length (excluding wires); cabochons are 1-3/8″ long by 1/4″ across at the widest point (dimensions approximate).
Sterling silver; natural American turquoise (likely from Colorado)
$875 + shipping, handling, and insurance
Since their . . . renewal, for lack of a better word — never used but remade in the spirit that animated their original even as it was obscured — they have become an instant personal favorite. The newer spare framing allows the stones to speak, unimpeded, and they tell a story of the creation of whole worlds, in beauty and in power.
Worlds we may not always (or ever, on this side) see, but that exist all the same.
And it is to the spirits of these worlds that we appeal, hoping for their blessing, for the medicine that will restore the land and rebuild the better world we owe to our children’s children.
From dust: an earth well and whole.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
