It is 72 here today, and while the calendar insists that this is winter still, the wind speaks less of spring than of summer. It is one of those near-perfect days, more common here to May than to March, when the sun warms but doesn’t burn, the air cools but doesn’t freeze.
This is not the norm for this time of year — or, rather, perhaps it is more accurate to say that it has not been the norm. With climate change firmly upon us, it’s folly to assume that past norms still hold, or to second-guess what future days will bring.
The spirits of spring have been here for some time now, and on rare occasion, those of summer as well: bees, wasps, the seemingly omnipresent flies. The more traditionally welcomed spirits, the butterflies and dragonflies, have yet to put in an appearance, but if current patterns hold, they will arrive early, too. And perhaps it is the warmer winds that carry them to us that inspired Wings’s newest work, completed only yesterday: a butterfly barrette named for both wind and season. From its description in the Accessories Gallery here on the site:
Summer Wind Barrette
The summer wind brings the spirits of renewal, the pollinators who emerge from their cocoons to transform the earth. Here, Wings pays tribute to the soft and gentle power of winds and wings alike with a butterfly barrette, a way to keep this summer spirit close to one’s own. Head, body, and wings are all of a piece, cut freehand from sterling silver and wings hand-stamped in round orbs scattered randomly across their shimmering surface. The body is formed of a single long oval cabochon of Royston turquoise in the colors of Mother Earth herself: soft summery green, shot through with golden bronze and dark brown matrices, set into a scalloped bezel and trimmed with twisted silver. The head features a pair of tiny and intensely blue Sleeping Beauty turquoise cabochons as eyes, bezel-set beneath a pair of silver antennae cut freehand from the same sterling silver. On the back, a small French clip holds hair securely; the entire piece is polished to a mirror sheen. Barrette extends 2.25″ across at the widest point and 1-7/8″ high from highest to lowest points; the Royston cabochon is 15/16″ long by 1/4″ across at the widest point; French clip is one inch across.
Sterling silver; Royston turquoise; Sleeping Beauty turquoise
$650 + shipping, handling, and insurance
This on is slightly smaller than some of his past barrettes in terms of the clip itself, although it’s easily as large in full surface area. It’s designed for smaller locks of hair, not to hold a full ponytail: It will accommodate a few locks pulled across the back of the head to cascade in layers, or hold back bangs or longer locks at the side of the head or above the ear. In keeping with the spirit it embodies, it’s designed to appear to float around the head, above or on the surface of the hair.
We know better than to believe that spring is fully and permanently here, much less the warmer days of summer. But on a day like this, it’s possible to suspend reality, just for a while — to believe once again in long sunny days and the bright spirits of the summer wind.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owners.
