MINERALARTS:

I bought myself a Winter Solstice present:  silver scratchboard by ScratchArt.  It comes in packages of 10 8″x10″ sheets for about $8.00.  Basically it’s a sheet of smooth aluminum foil laminated to cardstock and coated with a thin layer of black ink.  The ink layer is thinner than the Ampersand Scratchboard (Claybord Black) that I usually use, and is easier to scratch off – but the foil surface quickly dulls the knife edge!  It is better suited to a curved blade rather than a pointed one, though I use both.  I will enjoy using this for crafts, gifts, or personal projects – obviously it doesn’t photograph or print well, but the effect is dramatic and very appropriate for winter.

A year ago I had a dream in which I walked in a dark, windy marsh and was told, “A true healing shaman blows noon, with breath like molten silver.”  This would have been quite inspiring, except that I have hardly had the breath to blow out a candle for the past 25 years – and candle flames seem to get bigger and more stubborn each year!  So what does it mean?  Either I’m attempting spiritual work that I shouldn’t be doing, or I might unlock some healing energy if I work more with a metal that I’ve always approached with some ambivalence.   A reading on the subject gave me the Ore of Spikes/Ace of Wands.  So here on silver scratchboard is an object inspired by an older dream of a split silver wand that sprayed stars when I held it.  Here it’s depicted as the lichen glyph for the day after the Full Moon, which is the day that I had the dream last year.  A way of setting one intention for the year – to forge more silver.  I like using blacksmithing techniques to work with heavy silver rod, but the Moon Metal is less forgiving and more unpredictable than steel – it tends to writhe under the hammer, and can crack or twist without warning.  But it has a lively tension that is not seen in cast or fabricated silver, and it’s a good match with blackened steel.