Ajijaakwe: May 2015

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Sometimes, you get a miracle.

It's been a brilliantly sunny and hot day, with high afternoon winds. It's raining now, with a swatch of rainbow forming against the peaks to the south.

We spent the day at hard physical labor: I got the last of the garden in; together, Wings and I filled giant sandbags; and he and a couple of the guys brought the water down for our first round of irrigation (easily a month later than usual, thanks to all the early rain).

In between, we spent the day watching this guy closely.

But yesterday, we got our miracle.

There's only one photo tonight, here. But it tells his a little of his story, and of his many names.

Sometimes, it's a gift just to see one.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Gifts of Spirit, Always at Hand

Today at The NDN Silver Blog, it's the last entry in this week's edition of our Wednesday/Weekend series featuring Wings's silverwork. It's another short-form post today; after yesterday's events, I'm way, WAY behind, and today's task list was already unusually long (as it will be for the rest of the coming week). But it's a post that highlights one of his simplest and yet most beautiful small pieces, and one that continues the themes we've been exploring the past few days.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. And, as always, shares from the links at his site are much needed and appreciated.

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Sometimes, it's all about being a warrior.

I've had to learn that lesson repeatedly. Including today.

If you click on each photo, you'll be able to read each image's caption. There's an order to them.

The photoset is here.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Essential and Elemental

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's this week's Saturday entry in our Wednesday/Weekend series featuring Wings's silverwork. And, yes, it's a somewhat abbreviated post today, since my attention is with the living beings noted below. Still, today's piece is one of those that is so simple, so perfect, that it doesn't really need any description from me to demonstrate its power and spirit.

The post itself is here. Wings's main page is here. And since so many beings here are in such need of extra care right now, shares of the links from his site (and testimonials, if ya got 'em), are much needed and welcomed with extra gratitude today.

UPDATED: This Boy Needs Help

UPDATE: We are dealing with one of a couple of possibilities. Either a CVS flare has inflamed his optic nerve sufficiently to do damage, or he had a mini-stroke this morning. Either way, he's on Pred to try to reduce any swelling and the inflammation that is a given at this point. He became pretty profoundly deaf two years ago, and has long had a full cataract on his right eye thanks to being hit by a truck six years ago. [We believe the deafness and the CVS both ultimately stem from that.] At any rate, his world, which was near-silent, has just gotten a whole lot smaller and darker. He's his usual otherwise-perceptive and aware self, if entirely exhausted. So prayers, energy, good vibes, etc., for his sight and his balance and his survival would all be much appreciated right now.]

He needs all the help he can get right now.

We're hoping it's just a flare of his CVS (canine vestibular syndrome). But he's nearly 15, and his body has been through a lot. So everything is magnified in ways that it wouldn't be in a younger dog.

This is my soul mate, my spirit dog. he's been with me longer than anyone ever has, and he's been there for me when literally no one else was. He adopted me on sight as his cause, and later on, he expanded that to include Wings.

Right now, we're dealing with Cree's feet, Shade's feet, the never-ending saga of Ice's years-old sand colic, She-Wolf's diabetic eyes, Raven's weight. All on top of Wings's knees, my new(ish) hypoglyecemia/anemia issues, and all of our pre-existing health concerns. I spend most of my days feeling like I'm an inch from fainting dead away from my own physical issues, forget about the weight of the stress of everyone and everything else.

Griffin is my rock. He's been my touchstone, my guide, when I had nothing else to hang onto in this world. So please, if you believe in the power of anything, send some of it his way today.

Thanks.

Friday, May 29, 2015

Where the Thunderbird Flies

Introducing a new photographic series . . . here.

As I said elsewhere this evening:

I'll resume Hunger Road in a week or so. I'm still dealing with all of the new health problems (on top of all the old ones) and all the dizziness and fatigue that accompany them, as well as even less time than usual as a result to spend on writing pursuits. Besides, as much as I love the world of Hunger Road, as much as that place owns a piece of my soul and always will, there's only so much of my family history that I can take at one time. Thanks to recent events, compounded by issues raised this week by the Duggars, my threshold has been exceeded for several days now. The story is about to enter a new phase anyway, one that will have its own set of triggering ghosts, so I'm taking a week or so off to rest my spirit.

In the meantime, I'm turning to another project I've been intending for Tumblr, as well: a series featuring some of my own photography. No, it's nowhere near Wings's level, but it's mine, and that matters to me. Tonight launches a new series, one featuring my winged kindred spirits. This is merely the introduction, and thus features only one photo; future posts will sometimes contain one image, sometimes entire photosets.

There'll be more there tomorrow.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Friday Feature: Threads of Duty, Lines of Life

This week's Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog is our last installment in this month's exploration of katsinam. Today, it's one that reminds us of our duty to our communities, to the natural world around us, to the world beyond this one. It's also the most modestly priced of all the katsina figures in our current inventory.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, shares from the links at his site are much needed and appreciated.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

******* Next segment; first line:

Photo copyright Aji, 2015;
all rights reserved.

The rain settles into a steady rhythm, drum and rattle bound together in one elemental instrument.

The rain's the least of it. I loved the place she goes, but I was afraid of it, too.

You can visit it here.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

#TBT: Starburst Skies and Sacred Spaces

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, and in keeping with our current series, today we bring you one of Wings's commissioned masterpieces. It's a relatively recent work, dating back only a couple of months, but our relationship with the client and friend who wears it goes back some years. It's a beautiful piece, fitting for the man for whom it was made, a man who (along with his wife) devotes his life to justice.

The post itself is here. Wings's main page is here. As noted in the post, this is a design that won't (indeed, can't) be replicated, but for anyone seeking a highly personalized design with similar protective or talismanic properties, Wings can certainly create one uniquely your own; simply inquire via the Contact form. And, as always, shares of the links from his site, including the main page, are much needed and appreciated.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

****** New segment; first lines:

Rain chisels the surface of windows and wood, driving in hard from the north, the sound perforating the air and seeming as though it will similarly perforate the walls themselves.

The post is here.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

ALL NEW AND FIRST IN A SERIES: Sharing Shells and Stardust

Photo copyright Aji, 2015;
all rights reserved.

Yes, all new at The NDN Silver Blog, and his very first in a series, it's a pair of earrings that meld identities and traditions in a shared tribute to our peoples' trade in ideas and more. I love these; if you like bold, dangly earrings, you will, too. I don't expect them to last long, frankly.

The post itself is here. Wings's main page is here. And as always, shares from the links at his site are much needed and appreciated.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

***** Next segment; first line:

She stands motionless, coffee mug arrested in mid-air halfway to her mouth.

Actually, the last line is more interesting.

They're both here.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Jewels and Gems: Spines and Shells and Water Spirits

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's this week's entry in our ongoing Jewels and Gems series. Today, we head not just off the beaten path but into the waters, to look at another "stone" that's not really a stone at all. It's a beautiful one, too.

The post itself is here. Wings's main page is here. And, as always, shares are much needed and much appreciated.

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 owner.

Monday, May 25, 2015

**** First Line:

The day dawns a pale and watery yellow, sun anemic and thinly veiled by clouds.

It's here.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

We love "Game of Thrones." That's why we no longer watch it.

Photo identified as "promotional image";
credit believed to belong to HBO.

At the outset, I should clarify something: When I say, "We love Game of Thrones," what I'm actually saying is, "We love A Song of Ice and Fire."

Which is to say, we love the books, expected ultimately to be seven in the set, the fictional world conceived and brought into being by George R.R. Martin.

The obligatory disclosure for those who don't already know: I have met Mr. Martin on a few occasions. His wife, Parris McBride Martin, is someone I count a dear friend (and about as close as it gets in my world to a saint). It was she who introduced me to his books some years ago, before the HBO series launched. Wings is the creator of the turtle pins Mr. Martin wears, and the Martins hosted his one-man show last year at the Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe, which they own.

These are people who have our love and respect, our gratitude, and in the case of Wings, the respect one artist affords another.

So we were delighted to learn, four years ago, that HBO was at last adapting the books into a television series. We also experienced no small amount of trepidation, wondering how the needs of the small screen would necessarily slice and dice the original stories.

I write; not for a living, because no one pays for the sort of writing that I do, but for a far more fundamental reason: Because I must. For myself. And I understand well the need for editing, for concision, for collapsing of some storylines and excision of others entirely in the service of adapting an epic and sprawling universe of books into something manageable within the confines of cable television.

But what is taking place now is not something that we can watch any longer.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a photo meditation for this day, and for our people. No, it's not the feel-good fiction that perforce accompanies dominant-culture [mis]representations of this day. But these markers mean something wholly different for us.

The post is here. Wings's main page can be found here. Photos are of course available for purchase in any of the usual three ways; simply inquire via the Contact form. And, as always, shares are needed and appreciated.

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 owner.

Sunday, May 24, 2015

First Lines *** :

The gloom gathers close about the corners of the old houses’ interior like ancient cobwebs.

That's the start of the next "chapter." Found here.

Yes, of course it's "fiction." I'm here, not there. But you'd be surprised how much of it's actually fact.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

The Purifying Power of Fire and Rain

All new at The NDN Silver Blog, it's Wings's latest, and my new personal favorites. I love these; the coral just makes them, in too many ways to count. It's old coral, too. They coordinate beautifully with the other pieces featured in this week's Wednesday/Weekend series highlighting Wings's own work. After all, all of the turquoise in these three works comes from the same Colorado mine.

Today's post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, shares from the links at his site are much needed right now, and much appreciated.

Saturday, May 23, 2015

New "chapter"; first line:

She encounters the first ghost just inside the front door, in the form of a large and exceptionally solid dining table.

It's the next sub-chapter in the first section.

You can find it here.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Love and Life

Today at The NDN Silver Blog, it's this week's second entry in our ongoing Wednesday/Weekend series featuring Wings's current work. This time, it's one that brings together all of the week's themes. It also links his brand-new work from Wednesday with the brand-new work I'll be bringing you tomorrow. [Hint: Tomorrow's will be fabulous. I'm already feeling covetous.]

The post for today is here. Wings's main page is here. Many thanks from both of us to all who've been sharing links; we still need ongoing shares.

Friday, May 22, 2015

New Segment, First Line:

"She hasn’t realized it yet, but her eyes are spilling raindrops in an echo of the saddened sky."

It's a second "chapter," which is kind of a grandiose term for it, but it's all I got. It's kind of a scene-setting smidgen of text. Complete with an old ghost.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

The Bargains We Make

When times are good, and you take on an animal family member, you make a bargain with it: "Come with me. I'll take care of you." You're not thinking about what happens if the bottoms drops out of everything. You're also not thinking about what happens when the animal develops a debilitating (but not fatal) disease. The animal certainly isn't, on either count.

And so when you lose everything material, it doesn't matter. The animals are still part of the family, and they still need you to keep up your end of the bargain. Hell, it doesn't even matter if they just magically materialize in your life after everything's already gone to hell. We've been there with both of the boys, but what were we supposed to do? Let them die horrible, slow, agonizingly painful deaths?

I don't think so.

And so we juggle and squeeze and scrimp and cadge, trying to make everything all work out, just one more time.

It's getting harder for me right now.

I admit it. I'm . . . well, okay, I'm not going to say, "I'm sick," because that sounds horrible and defeatist and simply revolting to me and I don't give a shit how true it might be, I'm not going to identify that way. But these new health problems, stacked now on top of my old ones, are kicking my ass. Hard.

I feel like I'm about to faint pretty much all the time right now. I gather that it will be that way until we manage to get both RBC count and BG stabilized, but so far, there's no indication when that might be. And the treatment is almost worse than the disease; I literally feel sick all the time. I hate it. I mean, I'm used to being in pain all the time. ALL the fucking time, all over my body. I can deal with that. Not happily, but I've learned how to do it.

This? Fuck this.

But we made a bargain, a long time ago.

And so I've just come in from helping hold the girls, the ones in the photo, so Wings could work on their hooves. This time of year is so destructive for their condition, and however crappy I feel, it's nothing compared to what we're having to ameliorate for these two. And so, I came inside, juggled a bit more, and a bit more precariously, bit the bullet, and ordered the hoof pack they desperately need. It's not a lot of money, but it's a far bigger hit than we can comfortably take right now. Things are going to be really slim for a while again.

So, two things:

1) These girls need whatever good energy they can get. Spring is murder on laminitic horses anyway, and with what our weather's been like this year? The kind of pain it inflicts on them is indescribable. So, whatever ya got — thoughts, wishes, vibes, prayers, whatever — Cree and Shade need 'em.

2) We need to make some sales, preferably steadily. They don't need to be huge ones; a modest sale a week covers most eventualities. Unfortunately, the tourist trade doesn't provide even that little anymore. So, y'all know the drill: Shares of Wings's site, far and wide, with anyone you might know who might potentially be interested in indigenous art. It's high-end stuff, good quality both materially and artistically. And Wings has got some truly spectacular pieces in inventory. [Also, too, I've got some really good, informative writing, if I do say so myself, at his blog.]

Because these girls are gonna need us to keep up our end of the bargain for some time yet. And fainting or not, I'll put in all the labor, and all the care, but they need more than what I can give them right now.

Thanks.

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 owner.

Friday Feature: The Gift of the Rain

This week's Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog continues our theme for this month, looking at specific spirits and what they bring. Today, it's the Bringer of Rain, and his work is tied into our motifs from Wednesday's post. It also looks at how his gift is changing amidst a rapidly changing climate.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. We need to make sales rather badly; there are summer expenses looming more soon than the norm, courtesy of these very (and very early) rains. Shares from the links at Wings's site are especially needed, and appreciated.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

First Lines

"They said the place was named for old Gerhard Hunger, but she knew better."

That's the first line of the new series I promised, over on Tumblr. It's a mix of fact and history (my own) and speculative fictionish writing that's not really much fiction at all. This part of it is broken up into multiple short segments, under the larger umbrella title of Hunger Road.

And, as always, I'm writing only for me. It's not meant to be anything in particular; I'm only writing what's there.

Feel free to check it out; there'll be new chapters periodically. And if you feel inclined to share via other social media, the widgets are at the bottom of the post.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

#TBT: Wearing Your Heart On Your Sleeve

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, and in keeping with our current series, it's a trip back in time some eight or nine years to revisit one of Wings's showpieces from that period (one that was also one of my favorites even back then). And, yes, it's all about wearing your heart on your sleeve.

The post itself is here. Wings's main page is here. Shares from the links at his site are much needed right now, and much appreciated. And while we sold this particular piece back in 2007, if the design speaks to you, he can always create a unique version all your own; simply inquire via the Contact form on the site.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Where the Thunderbird Flies

I snagged this shot today. Mostly by accident.

Oh, I was trying to get it, but what you don't see in the photo, just out of range to the viewer's right, is the massive raven harrying the harrier. He'd chased her from the west field up into the middle willow on the banks of the pond, thence upward and over and over and around and around, spiraling higher, heading north as they danced in combat.

It was nearly impossible to catch her, and I didn't actually think I'd gotten anything in the single shot I managed to get off before they disappeared over the ridgeline.

She's going to put in an appearance elsewhere.

I'm setting up a new site — well, strictly speaking, it's already set up, but there's nothing there yet. It's going to be a home for my fictionish stuff, stuff that mostly really isn't fiction at all, but . . . certain things must be changed, and so I can't really call it what it is in spirit (and mostly in fact). Stories that have been rattling around in my head and heart and mostly my soul for too many decades to count, spirits who want their stories told, even if only one person ever actually reads them.

The title of this post is the subheading of my new place. This one will remain in daily use, of course — for Wings's art, for substantive pieces on the issues of the day that are part of my portfolio, if not necessarily by choice, for whatever else I feel like sharing here.

The Interstices will be for my version of art: Words, my words, in short form and flash form and poetry and possibly even things longer, punctuated by my photography.

Actually what it will be is . . . me.

Tears of the Sky, Raindrops of the Heart

Today at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a straightforward feature of Wings's newest: Earrings! Yes, it's a new entry in one of his most popular categories of silverwork, a pair of long, dangly drops made with substantial cabochons of high-grade Cripple Creek turquoise. Just finished last night (and, yes, there's another pair in the works that I'll feature this weekend).

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Shares from the links at his site are much needed right now, and welcomed with our thanks.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

So. Never Enough Hours.

I always have such big plans for what I'm going to accomplish in a given day.

It never happens.

Oh, I've been productive today — extraordinarily so, actually, despite the lingering effects of one of the sorts of multi-day migraines that leaves me mumbling unintelligible syllables involving everything just stopping.

In addition to all my usual daily chores, muck duty that Wings was planning on doing, so that he could cadge badly-needed studio time; ginning up today's in-depth post for his site, from scratch, natch; and a complex and complicated beadwork project that had to be done TO.DAY., the kind of close detail work that is death on eyes, hands, neck, and shoulders alike. It's done.

What I did not get to, and now will not, was the writing I had planned. You know, for myself. Reworking my old stuff, as I've been doing for some time now. In light of the significance of this day, The Ghost of Earl Little seemed apt (one of the many that have inhabited the places of my life), but Mr. Little's ghost deserves time and attention, neither of which I had available today.

Now, I'm going to explain a few things. When I do, I'm going to close comments, and when I link this elsewhere and I say I want no comments there, I MEAN IT. Look, I know there's the dominant-culture dynamic where "I don't want to talk about it" is code for "please ask me."

I don't do that shit.

When I say something's off-limits, it is. I don't respond to boundary violations. But I know that people are wondering so here's what (and all) folks get.

Today at The NDN Silver Blog, it's this week's entry in ongoing Tuesday series on Jewels and Gems. This time, it's another "gemstone" that's not even a stone at all, but it's definitely still a jewel.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. All of the pieces shown today are his work, and all have long since sold. That said, he has more of the cabs in inventory, so if you find that you need something this intensely beautiful, simply inquire via the Contact form. Shares, as always, are much needed and welcomed.

Monday, May 18, 2015

Six days, six years, it's all the same.

Six years ago today, at about 10:20 in the morning, I said goodbye to this little dude as he curled up literally in my arm on the table at the vet's.

He'd only been with us parts of six days; he'd reportedly been hit by a vehicle at the village, and the girls at the gallery next door didn't want to leave him there crying, but couldn't take him. So we did, of course.

His whimpers turned out to be less from what was apparently only the slightest of taps, and more from distemper, as became evident over the weekend. [This occurred on a Wednesday evening; our vet was unavailable until Monday, so we took him home.] In those few days, he burrowed his way solidly into both our hearts. Animiikins, Little Thunder Being, was his name, for the constant thumping of his feet. Also Little Dude, Little Man, Big Man, and Little Big Man, because as young and tiny as he was, he went toe-to-toe with a bullying Raven and backed him right off. He also followed us everywhere, head cocked to one side, overjoyed at having a pack, and having love.

The vet said he couldn't be salvaged. Griffin clearly thought otherwise; he gave me the cold shoulder for weeks after I brought his little body home, where Wings had already dug a grave for him. We laid him gently in the earth, wrapped in little quilt, and bawled.

Six days. And yet, six years later, I still miss him. He was such an outsized presence that not a day goes by that I don't think of him, and occasionally, I'll see Griffin out walking gingerly around the rocks that mark his resting place.

He didn't have much in his young life; it was mostly starvation, dehydration, abuse, abandonment, illness, neglect, pain, privation. But for the last six days of his life, he had food and water and a pack to call his own and unequivocal love, and before the needle went in, he looked up at me with knowing eyes, as though to tell me he understood and that it was all right, then curled himself into a ball in the crook of my arm and went to sleep. He never felt the needle; all he felt was love.

Monday Photo Meditation: Riding the Wind

Now up at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a photo meditation expressly for this time of year, albeit one that perhaps fit past years a bit better. No matter; climate change will ensure that the winds will always be with us, if at different times than those to which we're accustomed.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, photos are available for purchase in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the Contact form. And, as always, shares from the links at Wings's site are much needed and appreciated.

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 owner.

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Landing gear down, and still wobbling

Raven, yesterday, chased and harried by magpies.

Me, today, chased and harried by memories. Those I have, and those I've been forced to realize I don't have, and neither of which were anything I ever asked for. All carried in the clutching, grasping, skeletal fingers of pursuing ghosts.

They did bring me one other thing: a massive trigger-induced migraine that's been with me unabated for 18 hours now.

I'm useless until the pain clears, so Raven will have to be it for today. If I'm lucky, I might see y'all tomorrow.

Or not.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Subscribe to: Posts ( Atom )