Do you know the story of homelessness of one of our own? Aji, who has been a kossack since 2009 and one who contributed to many groups with many diaries of her own, has been struggling to live in a tin can of an RV — one which provides little shelter from the harsh cold months when it isn’t unusual to have many many way below freezing days. I worry every winter, and I’m worried now that she and her beloved Wings will still be in that RV come this next winter. This past winter they had a near fatal disaster by an electrical fire and then their plumbing system was near shot(and they recently found out was poorly installed to begin with). Honestly, I can’t see how they can survive another winter living in the conditions that they do.
There have been a few diaries to promote hers and Wings YouCaring page, and with the help of many here, they have reached the their 2nd Stage goal towards their new home and are now starting their 3rd stage of crowdfunding.
But they also decided to have a sale at Wings NDN Silver site where you can browse easily through silverwork that Wings has created and other featured artists work. Money from this sale will help them push forward on to having further work done to keep the house building continue and so they can be in a real home with real walls and a real roof with real warmth from the cold this winter.
You can read her updates via her twitter feed or at her blog.
Aji has posted on her blog announcing a 3-day Flash sale at NDN Silver. We’re on the second day, so:
- Today and tomorrow only; sale ends at midnight MDT tomorrow.
- 20% off all of Wings's work, silverwork and photography both.
- 30% off all work by other Native artists.
I’ve been quite blessed to share my home with some of Wings art and silver, and I’d like to share some of them with you. But a recent arrival is from his other artists’ shop. It’s hard to describe this katsina (katchina), every portion of this carving and painting is a detail of beauty. The form itself, the placement of the feathers places the piece into perfect balance and harmony.
Where Longhair stands keeping watch
I had a flood in the house that caused some pretty severe damage in the room below. Once I was able to have a contractor come in to fix this, I knew what I wanted to hang in the newly renovated room.
Flickers were once abundant in my neighborhood when I was growing up — when there were more old trees and homeowners not on the rampage to remove every tree in their yard or in front of their homes as they are today. A Daily Bucketeer here on DKos mentioned that without dead stands of trees, Flickers had no nesting sites. About the time that this photograph was posted on Wings’ site, Flickers had returned to my area. I could hear their calls and two houses over, realized there was a tall tall dead tree, devoid of leaves, and a Flicker pounding out a nesting cavity. I brought Flicker to my home because I needed to remember Hope. I needed to rediscover Happiness.
Jewelry can be considered an entirely selfish type of purchase. But I’ve always worn jewelry for protection. When I was in dire need of a protective piece to get me through what I knew would be trying times, I never expected that it would calm the emotional upheavals that were daily and constant at that time in my life.
And the following are earrings as modeled by Mei
and these are called Stardust, but I always call them cascading waterfalls…
Now is a time to bring home something special into your life or home! And by doing so, you give hope and help to Aji and Wings to build their new home.
As always, you can also contribute directly through the YouCaring site.
PS — just a small update — the sale will not apply to any commissioned work and is only on the current inventory! But if you do commission a piece, you will not be sorry for it! Thanks!!