Kalaya Steede

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 ...

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 latest and greatest. This cuff was inspired by my friend being in a group called The Amazons . So... what would an Amazon woman wear as part of her battle outfit? That's when I came up with this cuff bracelet. The design was rolled on to the metal using a rolling mill with another piece of textured brass. I used my metal stamps, handmade by me, for the border.  The two pieces are held together with my hand made copper rivets. Inside I drew a labrys, or double-bladed axe, a symbol of the ancient Amazon tribes, with an engraver along with other symbols. Is it original? Ummm....not completely.  I'm sure... no I know I was influenced by someone or something.  The thing is I just couldn't tell you from where or from whom. Some people would like to tell you that a piece is original but         is it? The eyes and the mind are like cameras.   Storing and then filed away whether we want it to or not.  ...