Kalaya Steede

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...

Bet you thought I died!  But I didn't.  I have just been on Cloud 9 since January.  There is so much I want to share. I'm just going to say it with pictures. Ready? First there was Mardi Gras preparations.  We had to decorate coconuts.  OOooooo...I wonder who got this beauty? Then mi amigo flew in and we did so much in two weeks it was ridiculous.  Here are the highlights I would like to share. We made shibuichi.  Which was hard as hell! I carved.  I like carving. Then cast... Then sawed a stump, ground a stump, ground an anvil, and made a dust collector. The dust collector was made using a powerful computer fan but evidently not powerful enough.  I should just buy one but they are so expensive!  The filter didn't stay put in the litter box there but I did have some suction.  :-/ Then the rolling mill broke!  Now that really sucked!!! We rearranged my studio.  Whaaat?!!! ...

Painting or Real? It's almost a new year and it's that time where I look back to reassess my progress or journey as I like to call it. Did I set out to get/do the things I wanted? Annnd... Were they the things I really wanted? I find that the things I thought I really wanted weren't the things I wanted at all. How strange, don't you think? I am changing, as we all are (hopefully), and in my attempts to be my authentic self you will find some things changing here.  It is my intention to share my experiences , my passions , my mistakes , and my discoveries .   Let's start with Nick.  Nick Cave was introduced to me by Sam about two years ago.  Sam had purchased tickets to take me to see this guy.  Now I am not one to go to concerts and I will fight being around crowds and complain to NO END about not wanting to go.  However, I went and I literally could not take my eyes off of Nick. He demanded attention and attention he re...

~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...

Yes I know.  I have been off the blogger for awhile.  I swear I've been working!  ;) I have been busy trying to find my own path and I think I have finally found it. Ha!  A lot of "I"'s in that sentance.   So that being said, what exactly have I been doing? Participated in an Upcycle show at RHINO Gallery. In this show we were to use at least 75% recycled material.  This piece was  inspired by the 43 students of Ayotzinapa that were taken on September 27, 2014 and presumbly met a violent death at the hands of corrupt officials and a drug gang. . The initials of all 43 students were etched into the .38 caliber casing. I cried after comleting the piece.  It was so powerful to me. Ghosts   Designed and made earrings. Astro Earrings Sugar Skulls Did a commission. Comission Annnd made one big pendant. Louisiana Opal, sponge coral (grandma's), oxidized silver, 14KY, 22KY Am I having fun yet? ...

Hi everyone!  It's been a while hasn't it? I have been keeping myself busy with getting settled into RHINO for the past month and a half. I've made new spinner rings... Silver, bronze, and hand stamped AND new Mandala Earrings... Silver, scraffito, enamel, coconut, brass, copper rivet And my newest piece was inspired by the Queen of Mictlan. Silver, copper rivets, bone, antique roofing copper, hand stamped but today I am feeling very sad. I am making a piece for the upcoming Upcycle Show AND I have been thinking about the 43 missing students of  Iguala, Guerrero . Their memory is what is inspiring me for the piece that will go in the show. And here is what I gathered up from the shelves and boxes in my studio... I had old sheet of copper, bullet casings, wood, and nails. My heart feels very heavy right now and the pieces are on my bench waiting for me to continue  but  I'm too disturbed. But I will force m...

So much has happened these past two weeks I don't EVEN know where to begin . So let me start off by saying... dun...dun...DUUUUN... I have been accepted into RHINO Contemporary Crafts Company.   RHINO stands for R ight H ere I n N ew O rleans. I am so excited to be a part of this tribe. Looks ominous, right? This was how it looked on my first day. Along with learning the ropes I had to also get my work in there.  Wait...what? I have to have inventory? So I desinged some volcano earrings to mark the occasion because I'm going to be  EXPLOSIVE!!! LOL!  I just had to say that.   These were made with antique roofing copper and fresh water pearls. Which led me into making a silver pendant. Freshwater Black Pearl Flip-side So that is the big news of the past couple of weeks. I just finished making somemore volcano earrings with labadorite AND they are wicked cool!   Well, to me they are.   ...