I love this ring. It’s made by Wings. When I saw it posted on his silver gallery, I felt I needed to bring her home. It’s a simple design, but as a piece of jewelry, the simplicity sets off the stone. It’s the stone that should be the focal point, the silverwork enhances that focus. It takes a true artist to understand this.
When I first welcomed this ring home, I stared at the stone for a long time. My first reaction was calm — the plains of blue and green soothed me. I saw the dark spot on this stone as land, and island. A place of refuge and quiet.
As time has passed though, I realized I began to see and feel other visualizations and emotions. I saw rain and floods. I saw a pond with a frog. I saw the sky in the early morning when it was still deep with night slumber.
But recently, I’ve been seeing a heart and feeling it’s beat thrumming strong in this ring. The blue is pulsing protection from waywardness and loss. The pulse beats a direction to Home.
What do you see in the stone?
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Aji and Wings hope in continuing their homebuilding seems endless. The plans, the organization of work, ensuring that the crew is available, and juggling funds to pay for it all. Over the years, they have had to scrimp on essentials, their health, their animals health. They have had to make do with failing and faulty infrastructure, like plumbing and electrical connections. Stronger internet connection has ONLY just reached their area — and it’s the internet that helps them both to connect to the outside world, their friends, family and their own respective ways they earn a living.
These past couple of years, Aji and Wings have been trying to envision achieving the goal of being back in a home. Crowdfunding began last year and they’ve been able to get the first floor frame up at the beginning of this month:
Here are some more updates on the progress. The vigas have gone up on top of the bond beam. In our last diary of this series, belinda ridgewood showed photos of most of the vigas in place. Aji also wrote in her blog how these heavy timber were actually lifted and put into place. The whole process of building their home continues to intrigue me.
While wiki will indicate that the use of vigas today are mainly decorative rather than structural, Aji and Wings are building their home using vigas in the traditional way, not just the beauty of the form, but the function of support.
In this photo, you can see how the vigas are held in place, blocked in by wood. On top of the vigas, the ceiling will be constructed. The wood holding the vigas in place will eventually be covered by sheet rock.
Aji says that the ceiling will be created using a herringbone pattern. This is work that will be started next week. She and Wings have a great crew in place, who work fast but work with precision and care.
The second story will be framed of wood, not adobe. And some wood delivery has begun in preparation to the second story construction.
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Aji explains:
The upper story is going to frame, not adobe, but the entire structure will be adobe plastering over the surface, so that it all looks like straight adobe. [The weight of the bricks requires finessing when you're doing more than one-story, like North House and South House at the Pueblo, and getting them up there is heavy, laborious, and costly. Hence the adobe at ground level, where we need the added insulation most, and where it will help drive the heat upward.] The metal roof will be pitched in one direction to allow for runoff (mandatory on a practical level around here), with the high point over the front door and the lowest pitch at the back.
Next weeks expenses will be quite severe so that more wood can be ordered and that the construction continue on the second story. So many have helped to get Aji and Wings to this point in the construction of their home of the heart, can you help some more? This is where once more we’re asking for shares of Aji and Wings story of homelessness and their determination to be in a home once more. Shares to your friends, family, email lists — to get word out about their story and how they truly shine a light of giving and kindness on all they encounter — through our efforts to get word out, we can help them live in a home once more.
And finally, the holidays are arriving soon, perhaps you want to peruse through Wings’ gallery for a special gift? And please don’t forget to look at the work of the other artists that he has featured on his site as well.
As always, Mei sez: thanks for reading.
HOW TO HELP
- The YouCaring fundraiser allows you to donate specifically to this cause. You can also share the fundraiser via social networks by using the “Grab Our Widget” button (and other social media buttons) on that page.
- Their Amazon wishlist mostly supports the health needs of their rescue animals and themselves, if that’s more your style.
- Purchases from Wings Silverworks will help them make a living the way they’d prefer, by selling Wings’ work as an exceptionally talented NDN silversmith and photographer.
- If you prefer, donate via PayPal at Aji’s blog, or at her Tumblr blog where she posts her own writing and photography.
- Kosmail belinda ridgewood if you absolutely need to donate by mailing a paper check.
- And Tweet, share on FaceBook, tip/rec/republish on Daily Kos, randomly email your friends about it, drop it into casual conversations. This seems minor, but it is not! When you share, please link to this YouCaring page, or embed the widget!