All About the Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rihgts reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's one of Wings's newest works, already sold, but so extraordinary that it deserves its own entry anyway. It's a pendant in the shades of the alpine desert earth and sky, but at this season, it's all about the light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We badly need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss (with an outrageously costly couple of weeks immediately ahead of us), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.  

Behind on absolutely everything.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Raindrops on . . . well, not roses; on yellow aspen leaves already on the ground. It's been raining off and on all day, short, sharp, hard little storms that drench everything and then move out only to turn around and come back from the opposite direction. It's also cold; I've had a fire going in the woodstove for an hour already.

And I'm behind on abslutely everything. Which, yeah, that's kind of my norm with my illness, but this is a whole other level. And we can't get behind now, because fall weather is here a solid month early, and I suspect winter's not that far behind.

And it will be a very hard winter for me in terms of physical function and mobility this year. I'm struggling on every single front now. Less than two weeks to cover huge expenses, namely the tax stuff, but medical, too. Now that I can no longer take the lupus meds, my pain levels are in the stratosphere, which makes the most basic functionality difficult, never mind the pace I need to maintain with us now going into the holiday creative and sales season. I can't do even a fraction of what I used to do. Add to that the tripling of the cost of silver, and I don't know how we make it. Oh, and the supplier's torch kits have been backordered for three months, apparently. I had to go elsewhere, and instead of $180, it wound up being ~$300. Cash.

And that's assuming there is a sales season. It's been a very bad year for us in that regard, while the demands on us have only increased, because this country's deliberate mishandling of the pandemic as left the most vulnerable in our communities even worse off than before. The number of deaths is staggering. So is the amount of pain and suffering out there, most of which we've powerless to help.

Just to keep ourselves going is taking everything I've got right now. I need help to do this. All the links are here; please, share them:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priority is first and foremost, the other ladder; also sheets);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, Nah, we've given up on the well. No one's available to drill before late next year at the earliest, and this year's tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's even more of a good time to make a purchase, because Uncle Sam is a vindictive colonizer, and my current stress levels about paying it all are off the charts. And there's lots of fabulous work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                                                    

The Fleeting Beauty of Fall Skies

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a personal favorite, a pair of traditional, classic earrings with extraordinary Skystone specimens in simple, radiant settings. It's a pair that serves as a reminder, too, of the fleeting beauty of fall skies, offering the wearer a chance to keep their pure clarity and perfect color always close.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We badly need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss (with an outrageously costly couple of weeks immediately ahead of us), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.  

Looks like a hard winter ahead.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

I told you our whole world was gilded now. What's not visible through the golden haze is just how much of the trees between highway and river have already turned yellow. The hummingbirds have already begun departing, too: As of yesterday, dozens of them are gone on their migratory journey; only a very few remain.

I keep saying that it looks like a hard winter ahead. Of course, here, "a hard winter," the way the rest of the world understands that phrase, is the best kind. We need snow measured in feet, repeatedly. We need the cold deep enough to let the land sleep for a good long while.

But it will be a very hard winter for me in terms of physical functionality and mobility this year. I'm struggling on every single front now. Less than two weeks to cover huge expenses, namely the tax stuff, but medical, too. Now that I can no longer take the lupus meds, my pain levels are in the stratosphere, which makes the most basic functionality difficult, never mind the pace I need to maintain with us now going into the holiday creative and sales season. I can't do even a fraction of what I used to do. Add to that the tripling of the cost of silver, and I don't know how we make it.

And that's assuming there is a sales season. It's been a very bad year for us in that regard, while the demands on us have only increased, because this country's deliberate mishandling of the pandemic as left the most vulnerable in our communities even worse off than before. The number of deaths is staggering. So is the amount of pain and suffering out there, most of which we've powerless to help.

Just to keep ourselves going is taking everything I've got right now. I need help to do this. All the links are here; please, share them:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priority is first and foremost, the other ladder; also sheets);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, Nah, we've given up on the well. No one's available to drill before late next year at the earliest, and this year's tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's even more of a good time to make a purchase, because Uncle Sam is a vindictive colonizer, and my current stress levels about paying it all are off the charts. And there's lots of fabulous work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                                                    

Friday Feature: The Creative Force of Fall

Photo copyright Aji, 2022;
all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a trio of counterintuitively related works that together inspire us to the work of building whole worlds. It's a necklace, a pair of earrings, and a cuff bracelet that channel all the cosmic medicines of rebirth in the creative force of fall.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We badly need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss (with an outrageously costly couple of weeks immediately ahead of us), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.  

Signs.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

That's not really a new bird; more a bird out of season. It's also one of a pair; the other was on a lower branch too far away for me to get them in the same shot. They're Western kingbirds, and they typically show up late fall into early winter, or late winter into early spring.

Their presence now supports our belief that it's going to be an early winter, and a hard one. 

No one would ever believe that on this first day of meteorological fall, but the signs are here. The only question is whether the deteriorating conditions of our collapsing climate now invalidates them.

I'm struggling. Less than two weeks to cover huge expenses, namely the tax stuff, but medical, too. And now that I can no longer take the lupus meds, my pain levels are in the stratosphere. Basic functionality is difficult, never mind the pace I need to maintain with us now going into the holiday creative and sales season. I can't do even a fraction of what I used to do. Add to that the tripling of the cost of silver, and I don't know how we make it.

And that's assuming there is a sales season. It's been a very bad year for us in that regard, while the demands on us have only increased, because this country's deliberate mishandling of the pandemic as left the most vulnerable in our communities even worse off than before. The number of deaths is staggering. So is the amount of pain and suffering out there, most of which we've powerless to help.

Just to keep ourselves going is taking everything I've got right now. I need help to do this. All the links are here; please, share them:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priority is first and foremost, the other ladder; also sheets);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, Nah, we've given up on the well. No one's available to drill before late next year at the earliest, and this year's tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's even more of a good time to make a purchase, because Uncle Sam is a vindictive colonizer, and my current stress levels about paying it all are off the charts. And there's lots of fabulous work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                                                   

#TBT: As Summer Ends, Petals of Autumn Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #TBT work that dates back 13 or 14 months ago, a very special commission by a very dear friend and family member that sent Wings back to traditional silversmithing roots. It's a bolo tie in a classic old-style blossom design, cut, scored, adn stamped freehand and set with an extraordinary Skystone specimen to remind us that as summer ends, petals of autumn light bring us a new seasonal medicine.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. This work obviously will never be duplicated, but if elements of the style speak to your spirit, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a version uniquely your own. We badly need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss (with an outrageously costly couple of weeks immediately ahead of us), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.