Kalaya Steede

I'm getting all up there with my new Olloclip. It just clips on to my iPhone 5S.  I think that is an adapter for the skinnier version of the phone.  I wanted something easier to carry around other then the massive camera to take real close ups. Here's what I've done so far. I'm still learning about the clip but for the most part pretty satisfied.  It's good for those close ups in the studio.  Here's me drawing down wire.  This is when I feel like a true metalsmith.  HAHAHAHA!!! The clip is also good for your morning walks to get those beautiful close ups of nature.   You see...not everything is beautiful from far away.  Sometimes you have to lean in to see the beauty in the macro world. Have a great Friday! Namaste Kalaya

the lotus flower blooms  most beautifully from the deepest and thickest mud. Lotus Pod Pendant - Vitreous Enamel and Silver Namaste Kalaya

Oh it's that time of year again.  Where I get all excited because dia de Los Muertos is around the corner.  It's that time when the spirits of the dead come for a visit and I make sugar skulls to remember. I usually do my traditional white sugar skulls but this year decided to add some color to my life.  After all, dia de los muertos is about celebrating life, remembering the dead, and nothing expresses life more then color! Getting ready to be fired.  It's like making cookies.  I just want to eat those skulls! The colors were all inspired by those skull beads you see EVERYWHERE! Howlite Skull beads If you look closely at the picture below you can see the enamel in sugar form. Calaveras or Sugar Skulls These are available now in my store .  I've been updating the site on a weekly basis.  So come on in and see what's new.  Have a great Friday and remember to have fun and breathe! Namaste Kalaya

Hello! I hope y'all are having a great Friday.  I was busy getting ready for the Maker Faire this weekend but now I am done and ready to roll. I will be demonstrating torch fired enamel and teaching the little makers how to stamp/texture metal.  In between getting things ready I made this. Life's too short.  So go ahead and tell me something! Namaste Kalaya

Painting or Real? It's almost a new year and it's that time where I look back to reassess my progress or journey as I like to call it. Did I set out to get/do the things I wanted? Annnd... Were they the things I really wanted? I find that the things I thought I really wanted weren't the things I wanted at all. How strange, don't you think? I am changing, as we all are (hopefully), and in my attempts to be my authentic self you will find some things changing here.  It is my intention to share my experiences , my passions , my mistakes , and my discoveries .   Let's start with Nick.  Nick Cave was introduced to me by Sam about two years ago.  Sam had purchased tickets to take me to see this guy.  Now I am not one to go to concerts and I will fight being around crowds and complain to NO END about not wanting to go.  However, I went and I literally could not take my eyes off of Nick. He demanded attention and attention he re...

~Thich Nhat Hanh I have always been atracted to the lotus flower and its symbolic meaning.  However, not until recently has it sprung up in my designs.   It has been my source on inspiration. The one below is my new lotus rings.  I made 5 of them.   It's really good meditation and soldering practice. When I look at it, it just makes me smile. The individual cells in the pod was my inspiration. Lotus pod picture can be found here:  http://www.pse4.biz/?p=391 This next piece was also inspired by the lotus pod.  The picture of the lotus pod was (still is) hanging in my studio probably for a couple of years.  The design had always been inside my head but my skill wasn't seasoned enough back then to execute.  When I sat down to make this piece it only took me a day. Inside I riveted an actual lotus seed.  Can you see it? Let me be like the lotus... Backside The lotus inprint was made by using a rolling mi...

Yes I know.  I have been off the blogger for awhile.  I swear I've been working!  ;) I have been busy trying to find my own path and I think I have finally found it. Ha!  A lot of "I"'s in that sentance.   So that being said, what exactly have I been doing? Participated in an Upcycle show at RHINO Gallery. In this show we were to use at least 75% recycled material.  This piece was  inspired by the 43 students of Ayotzinapa that were taken on September 27, 2014 and presumbly met a violent death at the hands of corrupt officials and a drug gang. . The initials of all 43 students were etched into the .38 caliber casing. I cried after comleting the piece.  It was so powerful to me. Ghosts   Designed and made earrings. Astro Earrings Sugar Skulls Did a commission. Comission Annnd made one big pendant. Louisiana Opal, sponge coral (grandma's), oxidized silver, 14KY, 22KY Am I having fun yet? ...

Hi everyone!  It's been a while hasn't it? I have been keeping myself busy with getting settled into RHINO for the past month and a half. I've made new spinner rings... Silver, bronze, and hand stamped AND new Mandala Earrings... Silver, scraffito, enamel, coconut, brass, copper rivet And my newest piece was inspired by the Queen of Mictlan. Silver, copper rivets, bone, antique roofing copper, hand stamped but today I am feeling very sad. I am making a piece for the upcoming Upcycle Show AND I have been thinking about the 43 missing students of  Iguala, Guerrero . Their memory is what is inspiring me for the piece that will go in the show. And here is what I gathered up from the shelves and boxes in my studio... I had old sheet of copper, bullet casings, wood, and nails. My heart feels very heavy right now and the pieces are on my bench waiting for me to continue  but  I'm too disturbed. But I will force m...

So much has happened these past two weeks I don't EVEN know where to begin . So let me start off by saying... dun...dun...DUUUUN... I have been accepted into RHINO Contemporary Crafts Company.   RHINO stands for R ight H ere I n N ew O rleans. I am so excited to be a part of this tribe. Looks ominous, right? This was how it looked on my first day. Along with learning the ropes I had to also get my work in there.  Wait...what? I have to have inventory? So I desinged some volcano earrings to mark the occasion because I'm going to be  EXPLOSIVE!!! LOL!  I just had to say that.   These were made with antique roofing copper and fresh water pearls. Which led me into making a silver pendant. Freshwater Black Pearl Flip-side So that is the big news of the past couple of weeks. I just finished making somemore volcano earrings with labadorite AND they are wicked cool!   Well, to me they are.   ...

What once was old is new again. So I get this text from a friend it goes something like this... Friend:  I really like those earrings but I don't do dangles. So... Could you make it into a necklace? Me:  Sure!  I can do that.  No problem. (because I'm a metalsmith and can do ANYTHING) Friend:  Can you put the down first then up? Me:  Wait, what? You want both ? So that's how the conversation went which led me down this journey of WTF? So I begin the process. I had drawn up an idea. Trying to keep things simple. But I wasn't feeling this.  That bar was not going to make this hang right and I was walking down the road of soldering this then that.  Things could get messy. Frustration now sets in. Why oh WHY?!!! Why did I agree to do this? Why didn't I just leave it alone? Then I make a ring to dangle them on but it changes the feel of the piece  ENTIRELY! More frustration. WHY?!!...

When was the last time you played with your friends? Do adults even have play dates? I had so much fun playing with my friends the other week that I  JUST  had to share the experience. Don't get me wrong. I get together with my friends often but it mostly consists of drinking vino and eating. Not a bad thing at all but what else CAN we do? I had this idea to make lip balm.  I found this cool site about how they made their own lip balm.  It looked easy but what did I know?   And besides...tackling a new project is always safer in numbers! HAHAHAHA!!! So here is a link to the site that inspired me to make lip balm. Overthrow Martha This was a good website but being a trained scientist the recipe was lacking some details and I am ALL about the details! Here is what we started with... Calendula (Dried-from herb shop here in New Orleans) Jars for lip balm Essential oils Pan for double boiler Beeswax (Organic) Coconu...