ZhaawanArt Wedding Rings

Niwiijiiwaa Waawaashkamiinaang (Together On The Rough and Winding Road)
Ojibwe-style graphic overlay wedding ring, organic (sculptural) finishing by means of melting and hammer-texturing.
Materials : 14K warm yellow gold; interiors of 14K red gold
Width : 0.315 in (8 mm) and 0.394 in (10 mm)

These wedding bands were made with the aid of my trademark method of Ojibwe graphic overlay and provided with an organic look - characterized by a slightly melted ("sculptural") top layer with a subtle hammer blow-structure surface. The rings, which consist of a 14K warm yellow gold exterior and a 14K red gold interior, show a cut-out symbol of the Midewiwin Life Road with a cut-out, stylized design of Maang (a loon) on the insides.

To my ancestors, Maang, the skilfull waterbird with the loud, wild cry, symbolized conjugal fidelity, for it was the close companionship between loons that best reflected wiidigendiwin, the union between husband and wife.

The title of the wedding rings, Niwiijiiwaa Waawaashkamiinaang, literally means: I accompany him/her on the crooked road.

www.fisherstarcreations.com/wedding-rings/wedding-rings-wisdom-together-on-the-capricious-trail

"Self-confidence and love strengthen everything inside you. This you can also do, my sister and brother. This is the time to continue your Good Red Road Journey, while still in the body.”

www.fisherstarcreations.com/wedding-rings/wedding-rings-honesty-the-red-spirit-road

Welcome to my Seven Teachings wedding rings collection - Handcrafted jewelry based on the Seven Anishinaabe Grandfather Teachings, inspired by Anishinaabe pictographs and storytelling.

Seven Teachings Wedding rings | ZhaawanArt Wedding rings collection Seven Anishinaabe Grandfather Teachings

Title: Aki Nagamon (Earth Song)
Type: Ojibwe-style graphic overlay wedding ring
Materials: 14K yellow gold and 14K red gold and 14K warm yellow gold interiors
Width: 0.32 inch / 8 mm and 0.039 inch / 9 mm

https://www.fisherstarcreations.com/wedding-rings-truth-earth-song

www.fisherstarcreations.com/silver-wedding-rings/silver-wedding-rings-where-earth-and-sky-meet

"WE FOLLOW THE BEAR PATH" - Path of Life wedding rings

https://www.fisherstarcreations.com/wedding-rings-wisdom-we-follow-the-bear-path

WEDDING RINGS "DANCE OF THE HEARTBERRY MOON"

https://www.zhaawanart.com/wedding-rings-hearberry-moon-dance

The wedding rings you will find on this page are not Authentic Native American, but the designs are inspired by the worldview and stories of my Anishinaabe ancestors.

www.newfisherstarcreations.com

"SPIRIT OF THUNDER MOUNTAIN"

These overlay white gold and sterling silver wedding rings with the red gold feather inlays and the mountain designs tell the story of Animikii Wajiw, the sacred Thunder Mountain that rises high above Thunder Bay in Ontario. It is said that the mountain houses the wintering Thunderbirds in nests of stones. The red gold feathers, their stylized shape inspired by flame designs, refer to the powerful Medicine of the Thunderbird Grandfathers, who bring rain and cleansing and healing to the earth.

Click here to read the story: https://www.zhaawanart.com/post/spirit-of-the-thunderbird-Mountain

See details of the ring set: https://www.zhaawanart.com/wedding-rings-thunder-mountain

A perfect match...

Sitting on the bench pin waiting to be picked up.

"GRANDMOTHER AND GRANDFATHER COME DANCING"

The title and the design of this black zirconium wedding ring set, Nookomis miinawaa Omishoomisimaa Biijishimowag ("Grandmother and Grandfather Come Dancing"), refer to the night sky and the Spirit Nation that dwells there, headed by Omishoomisimaa Giizis and Wezaawigiizhigookwe Nookomis Dibik-giizis (respectively Grandfather Sun and Yellow Sky Woman also called Grandmother Moon). They dance together in a circular motion, each in a different time of day.

​14 K red gold, 14K white gold, and 18K yellow gold inlays are used for the moon and the sun; this is done by hammering round rivet wires into both zirconium ring shanks.

​> Read the story: https://www.zhaawanart.com/post/star-stories-part-8-sky-spirits-the-sun-the-moon-and-the-stars

​> Visit the webshop to view details of the rings: https://www.zhaawanart.com/wedding-rings-grandmother-grandfather-dancing

WIIDOSENDIWAG ("THEY WALK WITH EACH OTHER")

The capricious, smooth-flowing outline drawing designs of these gold wedding rings, styled after the rock art-inspired imagery founded by the Canadian Woodland School, combine a highly stylized Life Road with the sign of Ma'iingan the Wolf, in the form of a paw. This wolf paw, visible in the ring interiors, is introduced as a symbol of humility in the context of the story that I share with you today.

The wedding rings are part of a theme series titled Bimaadiziwin! Bimaadiziwin! Bimaadiziwig! (Live! Live! Live, Everybody!)

It is widely understood that like the wolves, Turtle Island Indigenous communities throughout the centuries have struggled for survival. This means that the health and survival of the People are undeniably and inseparably linked to that of the wolf. The design of these rings symbolize the fact that the paths of Ma'iingan and the People have always run parallel to each other.

Read the story: https://zhaawanart.blogspot.com/2017/02/teaching-stories-part-21.html

Building up my new work space. It's coming along, slowly but surely. I enjoy it and I think I'm getting my old feeling back.

~~ SUNSET BEHIND THE GREAT LAKE ~~

"Gimishoomisinaan Giizis, Our Grandfather Sun, gives life through its sacred ways, heat and light. The Sun Giizis and Mother Earth Aki create all the living things on Earth from the sea shells in the greatest depths of our oceans to the birds in the tallest skies. Without the Sun we would not have lush lands of wild grasses, berries, forest, medicines, and therefore no food for the four legged, so on and so forth in the circle of life. The Sun brings us light in this world."

Anishinaabe graphic overlay style wedding ring set Gichigamiin (Spirit of the Great Lakes), 14K white gold with red gold inlays, sterling silver interiors.

https://www.fisherstarcreations.com/wedding-rings-respect

~~ A DANCING 🦋 SHOWS US THE WAY ~~

Memengwaa Niimi Miinawaa Miikanaakaw: “A Dancing Butterfly Shows Us the Way,” or, more literal, “A Butterfly Dances and Prepares a Trail.” Thus is the title of these unique, handcrafted wedding bands. (The literal translation of miikanaakaw is: “he or she paves the way for someone”.)

The title of the wedding bands refers to the symbolic meaning of memengwaa or butterfly – its stylized design visible in the interiors of both rings – in combination with the age-old symbol of the Midewiwin Life Road, which is depicted in the exteriors of the bands.

This capriciously stylized road with seven side roads or digressions symbolizes the life path of two persons who share their joys and sorrows with each other. The dancing menengwaag on the insides of the rings show the married couple the way through the curves of Life and guide them around pitfalls and barriers that they individually and as a couple encounter along the way.

But above all, the dancing Menengwaag remind them how important it is not just to know how to walk, but how to walk together – and even run together (strive hard) if need be in order to keep their marriage healthy and strong and – in a broader sense - to keep their family and their People well.

Visit my art blog to read more about the symbolic meaning of these wedding rings - and to enjoy the amazing story of how Wenabozho created the butterflies!

https://zhaawanart.blogspot.com/2019/07/stories-from-land-of-crane-and-turtle.html

View more wedding ring designs on my website: https://www.newfisherstarcreations.com/two-spirit-jewelry-wedding-rings/gallery-2

~~ LOON SONG WEDDING BAND SET ~~

Anishinaabe style pictographic overlay wedding bands designed & handcrafted by Zhaawano Giizhik.

G'wiijiiwin
Dibishkoo maang pane jiigayi'iin.

(I am by your side
Like a loon, always nearby.)

Visit the website to view details: http://fisherstar-native-woodland-art.blogspot.com/2015/04/song-of-loon-title-nagamon-song-of-loon.html

"WINGS OF THUNDER"

While Thunderbirds are associated with taloned birds like eagle and hawks, they are also known to appear along with all the other migrating birds as soon as the winter is over, and by the time the trees shed their leaves they are believed to return to Thunder Bay - Animikii-wiikwedong, which literally means "Bay of the Thunder" in the Anishinaabe language -, a large stretch of water on the north side of Lake Superior, to rest until spring arrives.

These two-tone white gold wedding rings, each featuring a Princess V.V.S.I. - F/G white diamond, are appliqued with abstract, geometrical designs of white gold, their white color and matte finish subtly contrasting against the highly polished, grayish ring shanks of pallladium white gold. These designs were modelled after the wings of a Thunderbird.

However, when you look at the rings upside down, the appliqued wing designs will show as stylized mountains; this is a reference to a volcanic table mountain - which the local Anishinaabeg call Animikii-wajiw ("Thunder Mountain") - that, flanked by steep cliffs rising 900 feet above the Thunder Bay, houses the wintering Thunderbirds in nests of stone. Thus, the wings of the Thunder and the mountain home of the Thunderbirds join and interact together in one and the same design. Finally, the sparkling fire of the carré-cut diamonds (or moissanites) mounted in the center of the wings/mountains designs, symbolize the powerful medicine and the awe-commanding, tremendous electrical forces of Animikii.

The wedding rings are my personal homage to the Thunderbird Grandfathers, who in springtime descend from the atmosphere to watch over all life on Aki, our mother the earth.

See details of the ring set: http://fisherstar-native-woodland-art.blogspot.com/2015/05/wedding-rings-thunder-wings-by-zhaawano.html

THE STORY OF OUR CLANS...

Since time immemorial, the Anishinaabeg have a unique system of government - called gidoodeminaanig in the Ojibwe language, which translates into 'our blood relations,' or 'our clans.' Nowadays in Anishinaabe society, a person's odoodem (clan) is the same as that of their father; they say that before contact with the Europeans, people used to be related through their mothers.

The Ojibwe Anishinaabeg had originally five to seven doodem groups, nowadays divided into at least sixty-five different odoodeman.

Each odoodem, which is represented by a bird, a fish, a land animal, body parts of an animal, a tree, or a spirit that lives in the lakes or the sky, denotes a common ancestor.

In traditional Anishinaabe society, awesi'ag, the animals, as they disclose norms and principles for bimaadiziwin, or living long and healthy lives, are looked upon as wise and elder brothers of humankind. Awesi'ag and manidoo (spirit beings) represent the basic needs of human society. Each different awesi' or manidoo seeks to instill in clan members certain virtues to emulate and provides them with a set of life-long responsibilities to live up to - both individually and communally.

These sterling silver wedding bands, mounted with turquoise and amethist stones, show the stylized designs of two of the most important gidoodeminaanig, or clans of our Peoples: Nooke (bear) and Mishiikenh (Mud Turtle). Bear Clan people are the warriors, healers, historians, and legalists of the Nation; traditionally the Turtle Clans bring forth teachers, healers, and thinkers.

See the website for more details: http://www.fisherstarcreations.com/silver-wedding-rings-our-clans

To read more about Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee clanship visit: http://zhaawanart.blogspot.nl/2014/08/doodem-clan-rings-jewelry-and-paintings.html

~~ ANAMA'AAWIN GIIWEDINONG (A PRAYER TO THE NORTH) ~~

Eagle feather wedding rings, comfort fit ring shanks. 14K white gold, 14K yellow gold bezel, The ladies' ring features a Top Wesselton-V.V.S.I.-F/G-(2-2)-422, 0.06 ct (0.098 in) brilliant-cut white diamond set in 14K yellow gold.

The literal meaning of giiwedin is "Coming Home." Giiwedin, the North, reminds us to be mindful of the physical body; when it is tired we put it to rest - just as in the winter the Earth rests from her labors. So, the North is really a place of Homecoming and Healing Powers and Wisdom, telling us to let go of ourselves and the past, to let go of our enemies and our fears, and to get in touch with our ancestors. In the North we make peace with ourselves and we experience and explore our love for family and friends - and for that special person with whom we decide to walk the Road Of Life.

Visit the website for more details: https://www.fisherstarcreations.com/wedding-rings-love-prayer-to-the-north
Read the story of the rings:
https://zhaawanart.blogspot.com/2012/08/teachings-of-eagle-feather-part-2.html

"THUNDERS, BRINGERS OF SACRED MEDICINE"

These unique, intricately inlaid wedding rings, made by hand in the minimalistic, dramatic graphic overlay style that is my trademark, are constructed of white and red gold with yellow gold inlays. Both wedding rings, which have interiors of sterling silver, feature abstract, strongly stylized figures of two Animikii-binesiwag, or Thunderbirds with an outstretched wing, depicted in mirror image and flanking a yellow gold sun symbol. The Thunderbirds’ wings and the sun symbol are connected by a flowing “spirit line.”

The rings consist of a bottom sheet of silver (the inside of the ring). The cut-outs in the ring surfaces are blackened through oxidation, which makes the design stand out in relief. The centers of both wedding rings show an inlaid circle of yellow gold within a bigger, oxidized, circle; in the ladies’ ring, a brilliant-cut diamond is added. In Anishinaabe tradition a circle within a circle denotes GICHI-MANIDOO, which literally means “Great Mystery," or "Great Spirit.”

Read the entire story: https://www.zhaawanart.com/post/love-stories-from-the-land-of-many-lakes-part-10-thunderbirds-keepers-of-sacred-medicine

Gekek, Spirit-Bird of Light, a set of overlay wedding bands designed and handcrafted by Zhaawano Giizhik.

!4K yellow gold with sterling silver interiors. Hawk feather inlays of 14K red gold.

https://www.fisherstarcreations.com/wedding-rings-respect-spirit-bird-of-light

"WE ARE STILL HERE!"

~~ Recovering the sacred ~~

Anishinaabe-izhitwaawinan miinawaa go anishinaabe gaa-pi-izhichigewaad mewinzha, geyaabi imaa ayaamagad.

"The traditions of the People and the long-gone ways of our ancestors, it’s still there."

Boozhoo! I consider it an honor to share with you the sacred story of these gold rings. What motivated me to make the rings was a strongly-felt urge to recover what used to be sacred. The quiet symbolism of the rings denounces a long history of careless abuse of sacred Native lands and waters all over Turtle Island (North America) and reflects the sad realization that much of the ancestral lands and countless sacred places of the Anishinaabeg - and other Native Nations - are now smothered and fouled by all sorts of economic activities, ranging from recreation to mining.

The rings are designed in the ancient tradition of Nishinaabe mazinaajimowin, or ‘Spirit drawing’; this spiritual art of the Anishinaabe ancestors still exists inscribed in birch bark scrolls kept by the Midewiwin (Ojibwe Grand Medicine Society), as well as in the form of countless rock paintings scattered throughout the Canadian Shield and the Great Lakes area.

The rings were made in the, as I like to call it, GRAPHIC OVERLAY STYLE: a unique mixture of the technique of Hopi overlay and the use of clear-cut and hard-edge, calligraphic ‘spirit lines,’ a trademark of the Canadian New Woodland Art School.

In order to convey the story of these rings, I chose the overlay technique because it reflects how multi-layered and colorful and dynamic the traditions, the worldview, and the language of the Anishinaabe People really are.

The story of the rings is a story that has been told throughout history by countless tongues. It is one of many grandfather-stories that, since time immemorial, stand up from the roots of the trees and from the cliffs surrounding the Great Lakes and from the banks of the rivers crossing Anishinaabe land; and although its meaning is deeply rooted in the collective memory and cultural consciousness of the Anishinaabeg People, it is also a story that I believe is quintessentially universal in its scope and its applicability to our everyday lives and relationships...

Read the entire story: https://zhaawanart.blogspot.com/2011/11/reflections-of-great-lakes-part-4.html

Teachings of the Eagle Feather, part 33: A Flower of Fire Paintings, jewelry and graphic art by Native Woodland artists Zhaawano Giizhik and Simone McLeod sharing the stories of their Anishinaabe ancestors.

WIIDOSENDIWAG ("THEY WALK WITH EACH OTHER")

The capricious, smooth-flowing outline drawing designs of these gold wedding rings, styled after the rock art-inspired imagery founded by the Canadian Woodland School, combine a highly stylized Midewiwin Life Road with the sign of Ma'iingan the Wolf, in the form of a paw. This wolf paw, visible in the ring interiors, is introduced as a symbol of humility in the context of the story that I share with you today.

The wedding rings are part of a theme series titled Bimaadiziwin! Bimaadiziwin! Bimaadiziwig! (Live! Live! Live, Everybody!)

It is widely understood that like the wolves, Ojibwe Anishinaabeg communities throughout the centuries have struggled for survival. This means that the health and survival of the People are undeniably and inseparably linked to that of the wolf. The design of these rings symbolize the fact that the paths of Ma'iingan and the Anishinaabeg have always run parallel to each other.

Read the story:
https://zhaawanart.blogspot.com/2017/02/teaching-stories-part-21.html

~~ FLIGHT OF THE BLACK-HEADED EAGLE ~~

https://www.zhaawanart.com/wedding-rings-flight-of-giniw