Sometimes, Wings’s work brings together exceptionally powerful symbolism and ways that are exciting and new, and yet ancient and very, very traditional.
So it is with today’s featured piece, completed only yesterday, one that has been in the works for some time now. I have been privileged to watch it take shape over time, and it’s a work infused with power and spirit. From its description in the Bracelets Gallery here on the site:
A Medicine Prayer Cuff Bracelet
The medicine wheel summons the powers of the four directions to our healing, while the eagle’s feather sends our prayers to Spirit. Wings brings their collective forces together in this breathtaking cuff bracelet, connecting the four winds to earth and sky, linking the place of our emergence with the place in the heavens where the spirits dwell. The cuff’s band is wrought in in the shape of twinned eagle feathers, all hand-cut of a single piece. Each barb of the feathers is created by way of hundreds of tiny individually hand-scored lines angles downward on either side of the quill, while delicate freehand ajouré cutwork forms the natural separations in the barbs. The dots that naturally adorn eagle feathers are formed via small stamped sacred hoops, and the ends of the cuff have been lightly oxidized to bring the patterns out into beautiful relief. A delicate strand of sterling silver half-round wire, hand-stamped with dozens of chased cloud patterns symbolizing imminent abundance, form the quill shaft. At the center of the band sits a hand-wrought medicine wheel in an elevated setting, with small round cabochons placed at each of the cardinal points in the traditional colors: a white rainbow moonstone to the North; yellow amber to the East; red coral to the South; and blue lapis to the West. At the center lies a larger cabochon of rutilated clear quartz, an elemental stone that carries within it an earthy, fiery collection of shiny black schorl and gold- and silver-hued rutile. Hand-stamped directional arrows point inward from each cardinal point to the center’s vortex of power, while broken arrows between the points represent the irregularity of the path. The band measures 5/8″ of an inch across at its widest point; the wheel setting is 1.25″ across; the center cabochon is 9/16″ across (dimensions approximate). Top view shown above and at the link.
Sterling silver; rutilated quartz; rainbow moonstone; amber; coral; lapis lazuli
$1,500 + shipping, handling, and insurance
In this one work, Wings calls together the collective powers of many traditional spirits — teachers and messengers, guardians and gatekeepers alike.
Bald Eagle has long lent us the use of his feathers to send our prayers wafting skyward on spiraling tendrils of smoke, the better that Spirit may hear them and grant their humble requests.
The Medicine Wheel is a representation of life’s path, envisioned as sacred hoop, one that summons the powers of the Four Sacred Directions and reminds us to honor them as we move through the seasons of the year and the stages of life.
And at the Vortex, at the Center of All Things, there lies the place of our Emergence, a place of elemental powers that propels us upward into the light and around the hoop.
This is, to me, one of Wings’s most inspired works yet: one that calls upon forces far beyond our own abilities, upon powers that transcend anything we can conceive . . . and does so with the respect to which they are entitled. This work, by its very existence, reminds us to honor the path, whatever its twists and turns, however difficult it may be at times — and to honor the ancient traditions that have laid it out before us, and the more ancient spirits that support us as we journey around it.
It’s a powerful lesson, a tangible manifestation of the path in all its healing and harmony.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
