Kalaya Steede

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...

~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...

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?!!...

Three tomatoes are walking down the street -- a poppa tomato, a momma tomato, and a little baby tomato. Baby tomato starts lagging behind. Poppa tomato gets angry, goes over to the baby tomato, and squishes him... and says, 'Ketchup.' So Ketchup already! Believe me I'm a trying. I attended the 26th Annual Bayou Boogaloo & Cajun Food Festival in Town Point Park, Norfolk, VA. I wanted to thank the Bayou Boogaloo in Norfolk, VA because they brought us up there and really took care of us New Orleanians.  It was hotter then HOT up there and they kept on bringing the ice out to us for the entire fest not to mention the plethora of other things they did for us.   Jill, Chris, Sam, Brandii, Alan, and Morgan And many thanks to our fearless leader, Morgan of the Arts Council of New Orleans.  She made sure we weren't FREAKING out. I was very happy with my booth and how the lights set a different mood.  FUN!!! But I have got to figure out how to h...

I have taken a long hiatus and am now just getting back into my normal routine  but this time without my studio mate Cosmo.   He passed away about a month ago while I was out of town and my heart literally broke into a thousand pieces.  I think my last post said I was busy taking care of him but no more.  So it has been hard for me to get back to work but I am trying.  His 16th birthday was last Friday.  I know he was old but sometimes you just cannot help but to think things will last forever when you know deep down that they really don't.  :'( So...I started off slow and finished a commission.  Next was to start and finish making Pagoda Earrings to go with a Kimono of mine.  I also made a few more for the Arts Market tomorrow here in New Orleans. Next on the list was to make some enamel earrings for the summer.   I think I will call them Lunar Gum Drops. Nice, simple, and cool whitish green earrings for the summe...

I was told to find a "common thread" in my work.  In other words my work cannot be all over the place.  How does one do this?  How does one find your voice? I am convinced that it just does not happen over night.  It takes time and a lot of work following your bliss. My brain is literally aching over some things like, f ind your common thread creating a brand and designing a booth. So what is the secret? It is to make something EVERY DAY . That is what I have been doing for the past two weeks.  In between taking care of Cosmo, social media, art markets, art exhibits, taxes, photography, teaching, and submissions. It is a miracle we can create anything! But enough of that.  Let us take a look at what is going on with me the next two days. Fertile Ground I want to thank the Arts Council of New Orleans for all of their support and all that they do for us artists here in NOLA.  Their Artist as Entrepreneur pro...

My muse has abandoned me.  For me I go through these phases of being uninspired.  It happens quiet frequently to be honest. I hear a voice and he says, Follow your bliss. But DAMNIT,   Following your bliss is tre difficult and sometimes downright PAINFUL. Okay, enough of that. It has been about a two solid weeks without being in the studio.  So yesterday I cleaned up the mess and was going to organize but then said to myself,  Self, you don't have time for that.  Get busy and stop procrastinating. I managed to clear off the working bench and put back together my beloved lotus bracelet.  A good warm up exercise to start the morning.   Did you know that I did that?  It's kind of like working out.   Need to warm up them hands Baby before diving in. I sat there for awhile before finally deciding to finish up a piece that was in the making about a year ago. I made this box using copper and sa...