At long last, we’re slated to get some moisture. We got our first flurries about 9:30 this morning, and we’ve had alternating sun and clouds, sprinkles and sleet, throughout the day. If the 90% prediction holds, we’ll get something tomorrow; we’re holding out hope that the temperature drops to somewhat normal levels so that what we do get is snow and not rain.
Normally on Wednesdays (and weekends), I feature Wings’s recent work, usually a showpiece and usually something recent. For this month, though, I’m going to take a different approach. It’s the holiday season; people are looking for gifts, and we have existing inventory looking for homes. so from now until the end of the year, Wednesdays will be devoted to collections (some intentional; some ad hoc) of Wings’s work, each centered around a winter theme.
For this week, in honor of what we got this morning and hope to get tonight, it’s Winter Snow.
Today, it’s a pair of coordinating pieces, Fire and Ice, that Wings created for his one-man show earlier this year. In that show, they explicated the role and function of Interstices, of the spaces between what is defined and perceptible, comprehensible, between the worlds and between their elemental forces.
So with oppositional elements in the very name, where does the snow come in?
In the stones.
They’re snowflake obsidian, and they really do bear characteristics of both fire and ice, but the gentle white “flakes” atop the surface of the stones are what gives them their name.
We’ve talked about snowflake obsidian before, when I featured this collection some time ago. We looked then at how obsidian is formed, it’s essential properties, and how it’s been used for centuries:
Snowflake obsidian is only one of many forms of the class of rock called “obsidian”: glass, but one that occurs naturally — more accurately, “volcanic glass.” It originates in a particular type of lava, known as “felsic lava.” The lava is, of course, boiling hot when it extrudes through fissures in the earth, but in some regions, the air temperature cools it so rapidly that virtually no crystals have time to form. This creates the “glass” effect: smooth, clear, slick, and mostly without inclusions of any sort. Think about what happens when making some types of candy: The crystalline sugar is melted over high heat, then the pan is plunged into icy water; the candy begins to set immediately, producing a glossy, shiny surface. The effect is a bit like that.
The glassy properties of obsidian have long made it useful as a tool, and our peoples did indeed make use of it, for arrowheads and spear points, for knife blades, and for decorative purposes. One drawback, however, is that, like commercial glass, it is brittle; it fractures easily, and thus could be expensive, in terms of materials and labor, for use in traditional weaponry. When carefully turned into a point or blade, however, it is exceedingly sharp, and scalpel-like in its effectiveness. Indeed, some contemporary medical-equipment manufacturers and surgical professionals still experiment with its utility as a surgical scalpel blade, but as far as I know, no one has found it way to make it sufficiently sturdy, safe, and cost-effective for that purpose. Today, Indian artisans still make arrowheads of obsidian that are actually used in hunting, and Native artists continue to use it for ornamental arrowheads and jewelry cabochons.
But snowflake obsidian is an unusual kind:
The obsidian itself appears to be translucent black, or occasionally, a very, very dark brown. But in some areas, the lava is shot with inclusions of a mineral called cristobalite: white, almost fluffy-looking crystals that occur in small clusters, like snowflakes. They harden on the surface of the cooling lava, creating the effect you see here. It’s a beautiful look, and symbolically powerful: Fierce elemental powers, clashing and bonding and melding together into something more than the sum of their parts. The inclusions make snowflake obsidian unworkable for weaponry, but they make it a brilliantly symbolic choice for art, which is perhaps war’s polar opposite.
In Wings’s work, it has nothing to do with war, but it does evoke — and invoke — the elemental powers: nurturing when contained and harnessed properly; fierce and overwhelming when unchecked.
This set exemplifies both sides of this dichotomy. First, the cuff, from its description in the Bracelets Gallery:
In the interstices inhabited by the elemental powers, Spirit catalyzes fire and ice, bringing them to life in our world, their full strength and power yet held back: a reminder that if we are careful, we may use their gifts rather than be consumed by them. Here, Spirit’s Eye traces the length of the band of this heavy-gauge cuff, accented on all sides by traditional symbols. At the center, two fiery garnet cabochons flank three larger oval stones: snowflake obsidian, representations of ice born naturally of the union of earth and heat and flame. Companion piece to the Fire and Ice solitaire ring in the Rings Gallery.
Sterling silver; snowflake obsidian; garnet
$725 + shipping, handling, and insurance
The cuff, of course, has adds fire and warmth in more visible form with the garnet accents that flank the center stones. The companion piece, the ring, is more basic. Not precisely a direct match, it nonetheless was designed to coordinate with the cuff for any wearer so inclined. It confines its expression to the fundamentals: fire and ice in the single obsidian stone, snowflakes dancing across its surface, set into a band of cool silver metal that itself was yet forged in the tempering flames. From its description in the Rings Gallery:
In the interstices between worlds, the spirits and elemental forces afford us an occasional glimpse but do not admit us entry, lest we be consumed by their power. Yet Spirit catalyzes fire and ice, as in this solitaire, where earth and flame join to create a stone named for water frozen by the winter air. Conjoined lodge symbols trace the length of the band; the snowflake obsidian cabochon rests in a scalloped bezel. Top view shown below. Companion piece to the Fire and Ice cuff bracelet in the Bracelets Gallery.
Sterling silver; snowflake obsidian
$325 + shipping, handling, and insurance
Seen from the top, the very stone of the ring looks like fire and ice combined — translucent, near-brown flames leaping through the glass and around the icy patches of snow.
Beyond the obvious symbolism of the elemental metaphor, it’s a set that holds close whatever temperature is needed: warmth in the cold wintry days; a cooler touch in the heat of summer; more often, perhaps, a comfortable (and comforting) blend of the two.
We’ve had the fire in our sun-drenched, unseasonal warmth for far too long now. Perhaps tonight, the ice will fall from the sky in similar bold flakes.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owners.
