Kalaya Steede

For the past 6 seasons (I think) EtsyMetal has these jewelry challenges based on Project Runway.  It looks like fun but I never participated, not until today! Project Runway Jewelry Challenge Season 13: Episode 1 Etsy Metal Challenge Basically the challenge was to make a piece of jewelry using one or all of the 5 ingredients listed below. RAIN BIRDS FIVE OMBRE (what does that even mean?) GROWTH Ombre? om·bré adjective \ˈäm-ˌbrā\ Definition of OMBRÉ :     having colors or tones that shade into each other —used especially of fabrics in which the color is graduated from light to dark After learning the definition I knew that I wanted to accept the challenge.  I envisioned using metal and texture for my Ombré .  So off to my scraps jar I went and dug these out. Scraps Next the design. Designing Yeah...I am digging this. File, patina, and get the parts to put it all together. Pieces and Parts And then you ge...

For the past few months I found myself without my muse. Where did all the creativity go? Here is a typical day for me. 10am-6pm in the studio no matter if I have an idea or not.  When my friends would call and say, "hey come out and play" or my mom, "I'll take you to lunch". A free lunch people!!! I would be like, no I can't.  I really gotta focus and make things for the upcoming holiday season.  I'm so behind.  Blah, blah, blah. But, then I would just sit in the studio and stare off into space without a single clue. It then dawned on me that I was not living. I was not in the show or even watching the show. I was cut off! So I finished my brooch. 'Nut' - brooch, Arizona turquoise, handmade rivets, broken tail light And met mi amor and mi amigos for supper and then went to a Nick Cave concert. I did not have a clue who Nick Cave was and was not really in the mood for it but I went. And then Cave took the stage and I was...

That is one pretty blue pickle pot.   I think a change is in order but it is so pretty! And besides, my "Pickle Senses" are not tingling just yet.  I will hold off for a little longer.  Yes, I know...LAZY! Yesterday I was left a gift from a blue jay. Check it out... It seems like the universe is always speaking to us (me)...sending us messages, rendering us to stop and take notice.  Stopping me and making me take notice.   My friend reminded me to look up the blue jay as a totem.  I did and at first I was taken aback.  The blue jay symbolizes many things but I focused in on... Loquaciousness?   I had to look that word up! YES!  I tend to talk excessively. AND Jack of all trades but master of none? let us not put a negative spin on that. It means one is able to trouble shoot very well, thank you very much! AND To not start something and leave it dangling. HA!  I do that all the time!!! Hahaha...

What a mess! After a one month hiatus from the studio I do not think soldering was the best thing to start with but nonetheless this is what I did. Native American legend says that this stone fell from the sky. It also says that if there is a crack in the stone then the stone took the blow for the owner. The history behind this stone is unknown but what a blow it must have taken for its owner because that is a HUGE crack! Anyways... My mission this month is to make a brooch using this beautiful Arizona Turquoise.  And just how big is it? 1.75"L x 1"W x 5/16"D to be exact. The depth varies around the stone which means a Custom Bezel has to be made. Ugh! After sketching up many designs for this stone (none of which was chosen), and coming to a paralyzing part in the creativity process, I decided to go ahead and just make the bezel.   I start off with some fine silver, cut the correct height, length, anneal it, roll it down (rolling mill), a...