Perfect midwinter, and it feels like spring.
This is not, of course, a good thing here: We need far more snow than we’ve had; the already near-bare peaks are proof of that. But as my body evinces less tolerance for extreme cold, the warmer air (currently settling in at a wholly unseasonal 51) is perversely welcome, despite the mud it brings with it. This day dawned in full clear sun, and now, in early afternoon, the skies are a chilly cornflower blue traced with wispy bands of white.
These are not the sort of clouds that hold any precipitation, although the forecast insists that we will have snow tomorrow. But they are the sort that will make for a phenomenal sunset, in the original meaning of that descriptor. A day that began in the plain dull glow of a nascent light will end in bands of fire. In this place, even in midwinter, the rays of the sun scribe the lines of the sky.
At this season, Father Sun is all motion, tracking a rapid path across the heavens. The night remains long, and the hours available to him to make his journey still few. It is a rolling sun that blazes a trail across the daylight sky, and its shape and spirit infuse today’s featured work. From its description in the Rings Gallery here on the site:
Rolling Sun Ingot Ring
A rolling sun travels across the sky each day, pinwheels of light illuminating the earth below. Wings summons its form and shape, motion and journey, in a classic vintage-style ring wrought in sterling silver ingot. The band is solid, substantial patterned wire, wide enough to hold a vaguely Mucha-like flowering design in a tradition straddling the Beaux-Arts and Art Deco periods. The face of the ring is classic ingot, melted, rolled, and hammered in the old traditional manner, edges rough-hewn yet filed smooth. A brilliant orb pinwheels across the surface, its rays fanning the light outward to the edges of the cosmos. Ring face is roughly 1″ across; band is .25″ across (dimensions approximate). Top view shown above.
Sterling silver
$325 + shipping, handling, and insurance
They say Punxsutawney Phil, the famous forecasting groundhog, did not see his shadow, and that we thus headed for an early spring. That may be true in the part of Turtle Island now known as Pennsylvania, but we know such predictions do not apply to us. This is a land that can see snow as late as the second week of June, and while we are in the throes of a warm-up, we know that it will not last. More snow is already projected for midweek. beyond whatever we might receive tomorrow.
In the meantime, the sun will continue its rolling journey across the sky, tarrying overhead a few moments longer each day. As it travels, it will write the story of this season in daily serialized installments, a story that will be our own as well.
~ 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.
