Kalaya Steede

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...