It’s winter, despite the fact that here, the season seems unsure of its identity this year. Daily temperature fluctuations of forty degrees are more suited to May and October, and the near-foot of snow that fell less than a week ago now rises no more than an inch above the earth. Still, the peaks remain frosted with white, and the many of the mountain roads and trails will yet be impassable for weeks to come.
Even now, in the waning light of a warm afternoon sun with a mercury hovering two degrees shy of fifty, the clouds gather above the ridgeline. Deep blue-gray, a spectrum from pale pewter to darkest iron, they boil over the tips of the peaks, shadows spilling down the slopes to veil the valleys. The mountain trails will see more snow tonight.
And so Wings’s latest piece, completed only yesterday, evokes these seasonal paths: the shimmer of snow in the late-day sun, wind-blown into drifts on either side of paths hollowed out by the animals that must cross, and by the few humans who dare to follow in their tracks.
It’s another that I dearly love for its simplicity — heavy-gauge sterling silver triangle wire, hand-rolled into a single band bisected by a ridgeline flanked by two valleys, each edged by another, lower summit. It looks like our skyline to the north: a phalanx of peaks, the tallest in the the center, the valleys carving their own trail downward between them.
The imagery works for any season, thanks to the ever-changing interplay of light and shadow that blesses our vantage point here below. But it’s especially apt in winter, when the sun turns snow and ice to finest spun silver. From this piece’s description in the Bracelets Gallery here on the site:
Winter’s Ridge:
The Pueblo’s own peaks manifest in miniature in this slender silver cuff that evokes the northern ridgeline. Hand-rolled over heavy-gauge sterling silver triangle wire to create a mirrored effect, the band’s central summit slopes down into deep valleys that, like their real-life counterparts, yet rise again into lower ridges on either side. The subtle Florentine finish shimmers like the slopes’ snows in the winter light.
Sterling silver
$475 + shipping, handling, and insurance
It’s another of those spirit-infused pieces that seemingly comes together of its own accord, perfect in its spare and simple elegance, one that can be worn by men and women alike. It’s also one particularly well-suited to the current seasons: the icy sheen of winter; and the warm glow of romantic love marked by this month’s upcoming holiday.
It’s a beautiful symbol of love’s blessings, whether bestowed by humans or by the spirits.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owners.
