For the first time in days, the day has dawned brilliant and clear, no overhead clouds to burn off or block Father Sun’s trajectory. We’ve been in the midst of an unseasonal monsoonal weather pattern combined with one that carries late-Spring snows, an increasingly visible product of climate change, and while we have not had a record of daily precipitation, we’ve come close: most days recently, the sunrise has been filtered by a wall of blue-gray clouds. Even now, a light dove-colored veil surrounds us at the horizon on all sides, but overhead, the sky is once again its characteristic turquoise, the earth striped with shadows by the slanting golden light from the East.
And so it seems the right time, as we wrap up this week’s edition of our Wednesday/Weekend series featuring Wings’s work currently in inventory, to highlight two little ribbons of captured sunlight.
Our previous installments in this series this week have featured gemstones in the soft warm colors of the desert sunrise, rose and pink and amber paired with delicate strands of silver and copper. Today, we add another metallic material in a third color, the yellow-gold shades of antique brass, I think it was no accident (although an unconscious choice) that Wings photographed these two pieces differently: Instead of using the usual black velvet background, he placed each ring inside the bowl of a traditional Taos Pueblo pot, and used the day’s natural light to capture the interplay of shade and shadow between the golden bands and the warm red clay ashimmer with mica.
Because of the material from which they are made — a precious metal, to be sure, but a far less expensive one than sterling silver — these are his most modestly priced works. Both are found in the Rings Gallery here on the site. Both bear names reflective of the way they embody the desert sunlight. The one shown at the top of this post, with a graceful anticlastic band, is found here:
Dawn Magic Finger Cuff
The pale yellow of the dawn sky on a perfectly clear Pueblo day shines from the surface of this anticlastic ring. Traditional symbols are hand-stamped down the center of the band; its sides slope gently skyward. The finger-cuff design makes it easily and fully adjustable.
Brass
$105 + shipping, handling, and insurance
The second one, with a completely smooth band, is described here:
Sunlight Finger Cuff
Capture the golden glow of the noonday sun and keep it always at hand with this simple brass ring. Traditional symbols accent the center of the clean, elegant band; a Florentine finish creates a warm, diffuse glow. The finger-cuff design keeps it easily adjustable for any finger.
Brass
$95 + shipping, handling, and insurance
Both are extraordinarily simple, but each has an unusual feature that I especially like. Rather than ordinary closed-band rings, these are what are known as finger cuffs. Think the difference between a bangle bracelet and a cuff bracelet: The former is beautiful, but its size is what it is, and it will fit the wrist however it fits (or not); it’s not adjustable. A cuff bracelet, on the other hand, can be expanded or closed around the wrist to fit a greater range of sizes and with greater comfort. It’s also simply a beautiful traditional look.
That’s what these rings are. I like the fact that I can switch them among fingers, depending on my mood (or, when your fingers are as arthritic and painful as mine are, depending on which is most comfortable on any given day), and still have them fit. I also like the ease of putting them on and taking them off, something that gets around the problem of puffy and swollen joints.
But what I like most of all about these two? They’re little rays of sun captured and wound round the finger like a ribbon, a way to hold a bit of the area’s famed ethereal light in your hand. Keeping the Taos Pueblo light always at your fingertips is something to brighten the grayest of days.
~ 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 owner.
