Monday, January 9, 2023

Four new cuffs by Wings!

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

I've been promising four new cuffs by Wings for a while now, and at long last, they're finished, photographed, uploaded with full descriptions, and ready for viewing.

And they are fabulous.

These have been in the works for a bit; the holiday season makes it difficult to work on creative pieces just for their own sake. Since then, he's been able to cadge a little studio time to work on them, as well as a few other longer-term pieces that are in various stages of completion, but these are ready now.

First up is the one shown above, and it's one he promised last year, but there just wasn't time to get to it. Here it is from another angle:

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

This one is called An Atmospheric Medicine, and it's a tribute to clouds and sun and moon and stars and to all the elemental forces that together make the healing power of rain (snow, mist, water) possible. It's formed of two heavy-gauge strands of sterling silver triangle wire, each one microstamped freehand along both outer angles of its surface, then fused at the ends. They're spread gently apart at the center to hold the three extraordinary Skystones atop this piece, all set into scalloped bezels and edged with twisted silver. The center teardrop has been in his inventory a while; it's a fabulous natural specimen of Turquoise Mountain turquoise out of Arizona, perfect sky-blue material webbed with ivory host rock and stormy red siltstone. The two ovals that flank it are newly acquired, both matched cabs of Nevada's Fox turquoise in the same iconic sky blue, but with finer, marbled webbing in off-white and gray host rock with inky blue-black chert matrix. And did I mention that all three cabs rest on a bed of dried lavender inside the bezel? They do! We use lavender medicinally, and it's perfect to hold stones such as these. You can read the full description here.

The second cuff seems to have its own exceptional powers, too. Just look at how it attracts shaft of light:

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

It happened to catch that giant ray filtering in through the studio door, and it turned the green and gold of the focal cabochon to pure magic. This is Of Sun and Sage and Spirit, with a heavy nine-gauge sterling silver band chased in repeating patterns down both outer and inner bands. The stampwork is truly phenomenal; you want to click through and see it from all angles. But the stone is pretty special, too: ocean jasper, an orbicular form of the mineral, in shades of olive green and gold with bits of ivory and rose and, yes, sage. It's powerful. You can read its full description here.

Speaking of powerful, the third cuff is all solid silver, but it's absolutely dazzling:

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

This is A Cosmic Breath, and this is another one where you really do want to click through to see it from all angles. It's chased with a lightning-bolt arrow down the outer band, flanked on the edges by crescent moons, and the effect is one of a Water Serpent, fully animated and moving fast. The inner band is all flowing-water symbols, formed via Wings's hand-made stamp, ending in a point at one and and a fletched shaft in the other: a heartline, infusing the cuff with lifeblood and breath in the traditional way. At the top is a heavy, seamless overlay, an Eye of Spirit set with center Lodestar, polished to a mirror finish. You can read its full description here.

And last, but by non means least, is a simple, spare, perfectly elegant little cuff:

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

This one is The Flowers of Twilight; think night-blooming violets still on the vine. It's formed of a slender but substantial strand of sterling silver pattern wire in a petals/vine/trellis design, set at the top with a single intensely-hued amethyst in a saw-toothed bezel. Nothing extraneous, just silver and violet, but it glows. You can read its full description here.

As always, Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact formWe will still need to make consistent sales as we enter this fourth year of pandemic and loss, and while most of the holiday season is officially over, there are opportunities for belated gifts and many occasions for gifts thereafter, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.


All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

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