Karen Earl - Sun Dance Ring

Artist: Karen Earl, WashingtonMaterials: sterling silver, vitreous enamel, glass beads, acrylic enamelSize: 8Dimensions: 1 3/8" x 5/16" Artist Statement: The summer solstice – the longest day of the year – occurs on June 21st in the northern hemisphere. For thousands of years, cultures around the world incorporated this event in their structures, rituals and celebrations. Multiple societies erected monoliths, such as Stonehenge, to capture the first beam of light from the rising sun on this day. Sun worshipers created altars to their solar deities – Ra, Horus, Aten in Egypt; Amaterasu in Japan; Helios in Greece; Lugh, Belenos and Grannus are ancient Celtic sun gods, as well as Sulis, the sun goddess. When the Aztecs sacrificed people to Huitzilopochti, victims were placed on a sacrificial stone. The priest would cut out the heart and, while still beating, the heart would be lifted towards the sky to honor the sun god. The Sun Dance was and still is one of the most important religious c