Kalaya Steede

I had the most intensive Faux Bone workshop EVER!   Robert Dancik decided to play in NOLA in the month of May teaching anyone who wanted to learn about Faux Bone at Thomas Mann's studioFlux and I was up to the challenge. What is Faux Bone you ask?   Well, it is PVC but a higher grade of PVC.  It is non-toxic, malleable, can be stained, dyed, twisted, and was founded by Robert. It comes in sheets of various thickness just like metal but sawing is like cutting through butter. I started off making one of Robert's designs so I can learn everything about the Faux Bone. After cutting out my shape and sanding to make it real smooth I used a Dremel engraver to draw my designs into the bone.  Next was to make those engraved sections pop, basically just adding some acrylic paint in the crevices and then wiping the excess off.  Last was to give it a good stain to make it look as though it had been aging for thousands of years. How do you ...

Hope everyone is managing to stay cool.   It is so hot outside even the mosquitoes are staying indoors and they had me for breakfast! Last weekend Thomas Mann's  studioFLUX  hosted Richard Salley .  What a great surprise when I found out Richard was going to be here in NOLA!  I have been wanting to take a workshop with him since FOREVER. It was a two day workshop about making a locket cuff.   So what did I do?   Got to see old friends... and make new ones... and made a couple of tools.   Which was totally cool!   I like making tools but I think you guys know that already.  Mr. Pointy was a scribe and then there is the bezel pusher/burnisher.  Fun to have your own tools that you make to work with. Here is my messy bench.  Everything had been etched, textured, punched, and hinged.  Putting it together is all that was left. Voilà  It was a locket for the man who had ins...

As I mentioned earlier Thomas Mann studioFLUX has been bringing in visiting artists from all over the world!  Okay maybe not ALL over the world but at least from North America.  Ha! It started with Jesse Bert from San Miguel de Allende in Mexico and now Richard Salley will be visiting from  Sante Fe, New Mexico in June. Picture by Thomas Mann studioFLUX Richard is teaching two workshops at studioFLUX ... The Found Object Pendant and Behind Closed Doors: The Locket Cuff .   Richard also just finished a workshop in Virginia at artBLISS . Beautiful pendant by Cindy Wimmer (photo by Cindy) Visit what Cindy (who was one of the workshop hosts at artBLISS ) of  Sweet Bead Studio  and  Laura of  Souvenirs From Life  had to say about it.  Ahhhhh...good times! Well it is time to go get busy at the bench.  I have procrastinated long enough. I hope everyone is having a great Friday! Namaste Kala...

Usually I post on Fridays but I did not know that Friday already passed.  It is great not knowing what day it is.  What a blissful life. Ha! I just finished taking a workshop with visiting artist,  Jesse Bert , last week at Thomas Mann studioFLUX here in NOLA.  It was pretty amazing! I do not think I have the words to describe my experience.  There is so much I want to share but I will try and keep it simple.  So...let me introduce you to El Maestro. Jesse Jesse is originally from the U.S.  Although you would not have guessed it. Anyway one day he followed his heart to San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato in Mexico and decided to stay and to never return.  Just kidding, he does come back to visit the states every now then.  What a romantic notion to runaway to Mexico, hmmm. I digress.    Jesse likes to incorporate recycled and found objects into his sculptural pieces.  I particularly like the details you see on ever...