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

Sugar skulls just got a makeover.  I cannot seem to get away with making these.  My favorite color is the white sugar enamel. I use the torch because it gives me more control over the sugar stage of the enamel.  Sometimes I use a mantra while firing and it goes something like this (after pulling the torch away).  Stop...stop...stop...STOP!!! A lot of people seem to think they are just for Halloween but I wear my sugar skulls year round.  It is like a momento mori. me·men·to mo·ri məˈmenˌtō ˈmôrē/Submit noun noun: memento mori; plural noun: memento mori an object serving as a warning or reminder of death, such as a skull. I am constantly thinking about my own mortality.  I guess this is why I make skulls.   What about you?   Are you afraid of skulls? Just today my mom requested a necklace to accompany her earrings.  I am totally on it mom! Oh just so you can compare.  These are how the earlier style ...

Dear Friends, My gallery has decided to move and it saddens me to say that I will not be going with them.  I have broken away from the herd. So what now? This is what I ask myself and to be honest I do not know.   I turn to you. The ones who come back to read...to listen to my failures, successes, and my angst.  I am grateful that you are still here. The Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) was here in New Orleans.  I was so thrilled.  I made new friends and visited with old friends and we had a blast! Halstead held an exhibition along with SNAG at RHINO Contemporary Gallery.  200 kits went out and 30 pieces were selected for the Halstead Design Challenge.  My piece, What's Her Story? was selected to be among one of the 30.  I was so honored. _/\_ Inspired by the women of Storyville and Bellocq's photography this brooch is the first in its series. The story behind the story. Every woman has a story, especially the women ...

Curiosity guides my heart stronger then ever these days. Pivoting once again and shedding my old skin for new.  I'm still exploring with my enamel mandalas but am now incorporating my photography. The most difficult part is allowing the decal to dry overnight but since I don't do that it's not so hard.  LOL!!! The base is white and I fire at 1450 Fahrenheit. Same as above but this has more of a burned negative effect.  One can get some fabulous effects by being impatient.  The cracks is probably due to the coefficient of expansion in the enamel.  Still have lots to learn about this dark magic of vitreous enamel! I also have a new studio mate. Pema (Lotus in Tibetan) is a rescue and is fighting off some serious heart worms.  Regardless of her past and not feeling well, she still manages to give lots of love to whomever she encounters.  Pema really knows how to be at ease in muddy water just like the lotus and ...

Mandalas have been on my mind a lot lately.   Struggling to find my truth.   I find making these in the studio calms me. Vitreous enamel, steel, and silver. Silver and copper ring Even though I knew that hard solder melts at 1450 degrees I still had to try enameling the copper.  In theory the solder should not have run.  If I only took it out of the kiln a minute sooner this may not have happened. A total melt down but I love that color!  :) Vitreous enamel, copper, and 22k gold leaf My intention for the above mandala was a ring.  The challenge was difficult but I managed to make it. Vitreous enamel, copper, 22K gold leaf, and silver I feel myself pivoting once again and feeling the need to create amulets and talismans but in sculpture form. Each person's life is like a mandala - vast, limitless circle. We stand in the center of our own circle, and everything we see, hear and think forms the mandala of our life...everything t...

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

Every now and then a little elf steps into the studio while I am working and starts asking these annoying questions.    What are you doing? Why are you wasting your time working on that? PRODUCTION WORK?!!! WTH?!!! He (yep the little bugger is a "he"), I shall name him Doubt, infects my mind from time to time.   This all happened last Friday while making some of my New Orleans'  Token pendants. So I reached down deep inside me to think about the "why".  I thought about it because I was running towards something else and resisting the moment. As I sat there at my bench working on this particular token pendant here is what came to me. New Orleans Token Pendant These particular tokens were minted in 1947 and 1970.  They differ only on what is said on the back (1947 - "One Base Fare" and 1970 - "One Cash Fare") .  The ones I use for my pendants are minted in 1947.   I do not clean them up.  Instead I examine them, hold them...

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

After visiting D.C. for 4 days I have made some observations but I'll get to that later.  Let me set the mood.  It was an overcast day with temperatures in the lower 70s.  I'll take that any day to the hot days of New Orleans.  We stayed in the hood of Foggy Bottom.  Next to The George Washington University. Day 1:  I have arrived! No I didn't take the monumental picture of the largest phallic symbol in the U.S. but I did get a picture with this gorgeous man. Isn't he awesome?!  This was the best thing I've seen all day. Day 2:  Oh Renwick.  You had me at your red brick facade! Oh hello... Jennifer Angus An exhibit full of bugs!  The walls were washed with the blood of the cochineal.  You remember them right?  The bug that gave the world red?  Well...the artist washed the walls with it and it was pretty freakin' awesome.  I wonder how many bugs had to dye for this? I was fascinated with this ...

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

Did someone say pin swap? For this year's adventure I was talked into going to the Yuma Symposium in Yuma, AZ.  Was I disappointed? HELL NO! I think the only stress for me was designing these pins and catching my connection from Phoenix to Yuma.  Anyway, I wanted my pins to say New Orleans without using the Fleur De Lis.  So what else says New Orleans? Well, voodoo of course mon cher! I had the idea in my head since the end of 2015.  That was half the battle there. First night in Yuma... PIN SWAP!!! Pin Swap at Lute's Casino I got a chance to make new friends and then met my Instagram friend that I made a week prior to Yuma. The pin swap was a great way break the ice.  However, I was kind of worried at first.  I was thinking... what if no one wants my pin?  Maybe they'll think they are hideous and won't want to trade!  Talk about feeling like you are in high school all over again. Ugh! But it wa...