December first: that day, in my childhood ignorance of seasonal calculations, that my small self regarded as the first day of winter.
It’s certainly winter here. The mercury has risen little from our cloud-covered dawn, and while the light dusting of overnight snow has mostly melted beneath the glare of a sun only recently revealed, the wind has risen to a brutal and bitter force. Speeds of more than forty miles per hour are predicted before the day is out, and even within these near-soundproof walls, it howls and shrieks and wails without.
It is no fit day for anyone to be out of doors, and indeed we are not; while I work in the house, both woodstoves ablaze, Wings is ensconced in his studio, hard at work on holiday inventory to the accompaniment of the propane heater hiss. Such weather produces wind chills dangerously low, and we know better than to risk exposure.
Still, for as miserable as the feel of the day may be, the look is one of pure beauty. Violet clouds still hang heavy over the peaks just east of us, with new snow visible atop those that have emerged momentarily to show themselves to the sun. Down here at their feet, the air is crystal clear, its edge sharp enough to spark momentary episodes of playfulness in the horses and dogs; the birds, better suited to such winds than we, are utterly untroubled, hard at work on the seeds and suet. And the light . . . .
In the season when we learn anew to hold onto the light, to grasp every available second of it, this is when the light truly shines.
The holiday season, too, is upon us, a season of light, and lights, in many traditions. We have not yet had time to put up our own; that will come over the next few days. But for this day, the start of the second weekend of the holiday shopping frenzy, it seemed fitting to highlight a small informal collection of Wings’s works: not just any collection, but moderately-priced pieces that all carry with them the silvered magic of the winter light.
We begin with his most recent, one wrought in the icy silver of winter and the rounded shapes of summer, one that holds the promise of warmer winds. From its description in the Rings Gallery here on the site:
A Flowering Light Finger Cuff
In summer, the whole world blooms beneath a flowering light. Wings summons silvered blossoms into being year-round with this finger cuff, a self-adjusting ring that rests gently on the finger even as it reaches upward to touch the light. Anticlastic shaping provides graceful curves at either edge and an underside as smooth as silk. Before shaping, the hand-cut band was milled in a contemporary floral pattern, large slender petals like peacock feathers spread across its surface in a random array, rising gently to provide a textured surface. The band tapers elegantly at either end for a comfortable fit. Cuff is 11/16″ across at the widest point, and 7/16″ across at its narrowest on the ends (dimensions approximate). Side and underside views shown at the link.
Sterling silver
$375 + shipping, handling, and insurance
Of course, nothing would exist without the source of the light — not the flowers, not the ethereal glow, not the earth itself. In these short days and long nights filled with deep cold, we recognize our own inherent fragility, and with it, the essentiality of the sun to our world. The second of today’s featured works embodies that paternal spirit on his travels across the sky. From its description in the same gallery:
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). Side view of band shown at the link.
Sterling silver
$325 + shipping, handling, and insurance
This one, too, holds the promise of a world renewed by spring, seated as it is atop a band adance with flowering shapes. But we have miles of winter yet to go, and months of deep dark cold, as well. Many of our cultures make it practice to sing or pray Father Sun across the sky, especially at this time of year. This is the season to engage with the light on its own terms, to appreciate and embrace such gifts of life as it delivers. This is the message of the third work in today’s informal collection, one simple in the extreme ands the more powerful for it. From its description:
Embracing the Light Finger Cuff
We begin each new year by embracing the light, whose return brings us a world renewed. Wings honors both the light and its embrace with this new finger cuff, a ring designed to hold one in silvery reflected and refracted light. It’s a simple sterling silver band, hammered by hand to catch the light, its arc sloping gently upward on either side courtesy of the ring’s graceful anticlastic shaping. Its “cuff” style, one length of silver wrapped and held via the metal’s natural tension rather than a circle soldered together, leaves room for self-adjustment. Note: This particular cuff is made for larger fingers, roughly a size 14; it can be resized a bit, but much more than two sizes downward would require trimming the ends of the cuff. Band is 3/4″ across at the top center, narrowing gradually to 7/16″ at either end (dimensions approximate). Side view shown at the link.
Sterling silver
$375 + shipping, handling, and insurance
Speaking of simplicity, this is the season in which the fundamentals of our world show themselves plainly. Day and night; dark and light; warmth and cold; the turning of the earth and turning over of the seasons. It reminds us that life, like our world, is divided into phases and stages, and whatever the obstacles or difficulties of one of them, it will soon give way to a new one, with new opportunities.
Such phases, such seasons and stages, manifest openly in the next work, one of Wings’s most simple, spare pieces. From its description:
Four Ring
The cardinal directions. The elements. The seasons of the year. The stages of life. Over and over, the number four appears in indigenous cultures as a marker of the significant and the sacred. Keep its symbolism close to hand with this simple, elegant band hand-wrought in sterling silver. The ring itself is made of four individual pieces, two pairs: one pair of slender strands of triangle wire, peaks ever so slightly elevated, fused in the center; flanked by another pair of strands of half-round wire, one strand melded at either edge. The four pieces are soldered together, fused so completely that they appear to have been milled from a single heavy piece of silver. Unisex; sizeable.
Sterling silver
$195 + shipping, handling, and insurance
And as the previous work reminds us, no stage or season has a monopoly on difficulty. Now, it’s the cold and snow; in summer, at least if we are lucky, it will be the extreme thunderstorms of the monsoon season. Now, of course, climate change has given us the new gift of what the meteorologists call “thundersnow,” a phenomenon once mostly unknown in this part of our world but now somewhat common to our warming winters. Even the cloud patterns hark back to the monsoonal skies of summer, great towers of white with blue-gray bases that glow violet in the light. Its an image that fits well with the last work in today’s informal series, one wrought to remind us of the vital nature of the storm to a world in balance and harmony. From its description on the second page of the same gallery:
Thunderhead Trail Finger Cuff
The foundation of traditional cultures exists in the stories and lessons found in ancient symbols and patterns. Stories writ small carry large symbolism, like the thunderhead: A sign of rain, water in the desert, it can represent fertility, abundance, prosperity, harmony, well-being, and a host of other virtues and blessings, all entwined and interconnected. It can also represent power at its wildest and most fierce. Here, the stories play out in matched thunderheads that form a trail of power and balance. centered amid the gently sloping sides of the anticlastic band. A random scattering of stars lights the trail of the inner band; the finger-cuff design keeps it fully adjustable.
Sterling silver
$255 + shipping, handling, and insurance
On days such as this, when the snow promised for tomorrow seems so much more welcome than the clear cold winds of today, I sometimes feel as though the animals know better than we. They accept the wind with a passing equanimity — not happy about it, necessarily, but without complaint. In addition to their doghouses, the pups know how to find sheltered corners and crevices; when not in the stalls, the horses turn their backs to the wind entirely, standing companionably side by side to benefit from collective warmth. They enjoy the light while it lasts, taking advantage of such warmth as it bestows, and are glad of it.
We humans spend far too much time bemoaning that which is, too much energy in futile efforts to control that which is outside our purview. We would do better to put our efforts, as the animals do, toward learning to adapt. Such an approach will become increasingly essential — indeed, nonnegotiable — if we are to cope with what climate change is already bringing us. We must adapt to survive, and we must learn to face what is with clear eyes and a courageous spirit.
Tomorrow, if we are fortunate, we will have snow. That will be an improvement over today’s bitter winds for many reasons, but neither the snow nor even tomorrow is guaranteed. For today, we must navigate the brutal force of the day.
We can do it. We need only hold onto the light.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2018; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
