Twice in as many days, we’ve had to make an early-morning journey a few dozen miles north of here — still well within the state line, but along a highway lined with forest land, elevation mostly increasing as we went.
It’s a chance to see the seasons change in real time, in a place where that change hits first. In that regard, the trips did not disappoint; we were witness to evidence of altered wind and climate patterns, as well as autumn’s early arrival.
Still, even at that great height, the landscape remains mostly green. Up there, of course, it is like the mountains at whose feet we sit: The vast majority of it is in fact evergreen, word as object and descriptor alike. It is a place of Ponderosa pine and the tallest of spruce and cedar and fir, stippled with the squat wide silhouettes of piñon and juniper. But such flatlands as exist remain covered with grass, flashing bands of malachite and emerald and jade in the morning sunlight.
It’s a reminder that in our world, life is a process, a cycle. As humans, we tend to be so self-centered that we expect our whole lives to be one upward trajectory: toward greater wealth, greater beauty, greater happiness, greater power. Our relatives the plant and animal spirits know better; they have long since accepted that surviving, and thriving, depends upon a willingness to adjust, to adapt — not merely rolling with the punches, so to speak (not-so-metaphorical punches that humanity has mostly inflicted by now), but ceding to the more fundamental, elemental authority of climate and weather, season and time. Those trees not evergreen, like the grass and wildflowers and plants of tradition and medicine, know that in a contest with winter, they will lose, and the penalty is death. But ceding a little ground and time to the colder months, taking the opportunity to rest and recharge, permits them to leaf and flower again in the warming light of spring.
For now, though, the real cold has not yet come; that remains a few weeks off still. Highs still reach ninety even with overnight lows nearly fifty degrees colder. And for the moment, we still walk upon a world in full leaf and flower — one of green earth, silver light.
It’s a world made manifest in miniature in today’s featured work, a cuff that features Wings’s exceptional saw-work to give it form and shape. From its description in the relevant section of the Bracelets Gallery here on the site:
Earth, Flowering In the Light Cuff Bracelet
A healthy Earth, flowering in the light, creates a world in harmony for us all. Wings honors both spirit and goal with this cuff bracelet, sterling silver in full flower. The band is scored freehand into seven separate spaces, a sacred number that in some traditions is the number of the directions, the clans, and the spirits. The inner spaces are boldly oxidized, then lightly polished and left smooth, with wing-like ajouré excisions flowing gracefully down either side. The two outer spaces remain whole, and are hand-texturized by hundreds of strikes of a tiny jeweler’s hammer, dotted earth embracing air and water. At the center of the band, an extraordinarily low-profile tube is soldered into place to elevate the setting slightly above the band’s surface. The setting itself is formed from a traditional concha wrought in Wings’s signature style, a blossom pattern cut freehand with scalloped edges that turn hand-scored rays of light into the petals of a flower. At the end of each “ray,” fitted into each scalloped edge, rests a hand-stamped sunrise symbol, each edge connecting it to the next by a single hand-stamped hoop. The concha is domed slightly, repoussé-fashion, then set at the center with a simple, elegant low-profile bezel holding a beautifully banded malachite cabochon in shades of earthy, fertile emerald green. The band is 5″ long and 1″ across; ajouré designs at either end are 1.5″ long and begin 3/4″ across at the widest point, narrowing to 1/8″ at the end; concha setting is 1.75″ across; cabochon is 3/8″ across (dimensions approximate). Side view shown below. [Note: This cuff is designed for a narrow wrist.]
Sterling silver; malachite
$1,025 + shipping, handling, and insurance
This has long been one of my favorites — true, partly because it fits my wrist, but also for its shape and spirit. The saw-work on the sides is inspired, a way of letting the light in for the wearer, too. And the focal setting, a radiant sunburst cut and stamped freehand, centered by a beautifully banded bit of summer earth . . . it’s a chance to wear the lush light of summer year-round.
And we shall need to keep that lushness and that firmly in mind all too soon. Every day, the trees go a little more gold (and in the case of the maples, red); every day, the land browns just a little bit more. For now, though, we have the wildflowers, the brilliant blossoms of summer, still with us — a still-warm world of green earth, silver light.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
