What a difference, as the saying goes, a day makes. Yesterday morning, the forecast for Monday loudly proclaimed a 90% chance of snow; this morning, that estimate was cut quietly and sheepishly by two-thirds. In the hours since, it’s climbed again from 30% to 40%, but it’s a far cry from the sure thing the meteorologists were assuring us only a day ago would arrive in due course.
The irony is that today has been, since dawn, mostly cloudy, only pale hints of blue visible through their veil. The air is warming — the high a balmy 24 — yet heavy with an undercurrent of change. Around the horizon, the blue of the storm is beginning to build.
Regardless, the respite from the recent bitter winds has been welcome: A few days ago, we learned that whirlwinds are no longer confined here to the dust of the warmer months. Ground blizzards are familiar; winter twisters are another thing entirely. And if the snow does decide to put in an appearance tomorrow, we will be ready to welcome it.
Today’s featured work embodies both this attitude of welcome and the reality of the storm, a grounding vortex spiraling outward in shimmering silver and the deep bright blues of winter. From its description in the Necklaces Gallery here on the site:
Dance of the Whirlwind Spirits Necklace
When the winds come from the Four Directions to meet at the center of all that is, they summon the spirit of the whirlwind to dance in the vortex of the storm. Wings summons all of the spirits in this work, a large, heavy talismanic medallion of solid sterling silver, hammered by hand and lightly domed in repoussé fashion. A symbol of the Four Sacred Direction in a flaring stylized cross shape rests atop the medallion as an overlay. Each spoke is marked with a single cabochon of cobalt-blue lapis lazuli, the color of the rain; they spin inward toward the vortex at the center, embodied in a large round onyx cabochon of mysteriously glossy depths. The hand-made bail is accented with tiny hand-stamped hoops, the shape of the spiraling wind itself. The pendant hangs from an alternating strand of round sterling silver and lapis lazuli beads, with small square lapis and round onyx beads stretching toward either end of the strand, each end terminating in two tiny Florentine-finish silver beads. Pendant is 2-1/8 inches long (including bail) by 2-1/4 inches across; beads are 19 inches long (dimensions approximate). Full view of the necklace shown at top.
Sterling silver; onyx; lapis lazuli
$1,500 + shipping, handling, and insurance
Now, as afternoon gets fully under way, the clouds are coalescing, low, blue, and dark in the distance. There will be no snow tonight, save perhaps beyond the western horizon, but we might still be granted the gift of precipitation tomorrow after all. In this place, we know that it is always a gift.
The last year has taught us the truth of its priceless value.
~ 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.
