Jewelry designer Erica Zap has been surrounded by art and craft all her life. Her parents owned an international handcraft shop that sold crafts and art collected from their extensive travels around the world. Erica’s early exposure to exotic art and culture has greatly influenced her designs.After graduating from S.U.N.Y. New Paltz with a BFA in gold and silversmithing, Erica began designing her own line of jewelry which is produced in Newport, Rhode Island and sold nationally under the name Erica Zap Designs. Her company store in Newport, The Erica Zap Collection, features her jewelry as well as other unique handcrafted items.
“My goal is to design a contemporary look which exposes beauty through the simplicity of form. My jewelry reflects the integration of past and present cultures. I use metals, stones, textures, shapes and color to create precious pieces that are as individual as the women who wear them.”
Between the 3 of ‘us’, 
My fine art photography is like human life always in progress. Each of my series has a common concept, human development. I obtain my images by photographing subjects that I have developed a passion for. Usually, like many others photographers, I will obtain 100;s of images so I can select a few. I usually explore and study the areas where I plan to photograph. I select a group of subjects. I study how the lighting and perspective change them. This process could take from a few minutes to several days. I develop the film, and then a few weeks after developing the film, I select the possible candidates from the negatives. The candidates I select will be printed. I review the prints and conclude if they work with past work or they can be used as the start of a new series. At this stage, I prefer to capture my images in color but some images are done in black and white. I choose slide film for my 645 camera and 35 mm. I print all my images on Fiujicolor Crystal paper.
I am a graduate of The Art Academy of Cincinnati. Since 1993 I have owned and operated Olmes Studio and Framing in Newtown Ohio. I have worked most exclusively with the figure and floral or still life imagery. More recently I find myself quite drawn to warm vivid colors. Usually my images are those items which are part of my everyday life. It could be that I paint the apple to be eaten for lunch, a family treasure or a flower picked from my garden that morning. I believe art painted from the artist intimate knowledge of the subject has a personal message that is more readily felt by the viewer. Visit my website for more information and to see more of my work 
Spend five minutes with Tali and you are seduced and inspired by her sincerity, beauty, and soulful warmth. View her artwork and you will know instantly why this exotic Israeli is one of the most respected and sought after young artists.
I began working with metals while studying at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1997. My jewelry is inspired by an affinity for machine components, kinetic movement and natural geometric patterns.
“Sometimes you just have to take the leap, and build your wings on the way down.”
I was first introduced to enameling in 1988 while a student at CIA. I didn’t even know what enamel was until I was a fourth-year student at the Institute (and 21 years old,) when a friend showed me pieces she had made. I took enameling as an elective class the next semester, and as an Independant Study the following year. Along with prints, drawings and works in glass, I incorporated enamel into multi-media pieces for my 5th-year thesis show.
I look at the world in detail, noticing intricacies, contrasts, and rhythms of color to find and elaborate design. I then create my jewelry using numerous ceramic and metal techniques, among which are slip trailing and brushing, stenciling, forming, and etching. The extreme detail and intense color in my ceramic work results from the use of over 500 different colors of clay in an ancient technique known as millefiori. In this technique, carefully designed loaves of clay are formed from colored porcelains. Next,cross-sections are sliced from the loaves, and these sections are shaped and finished into individual pieces, then glazed and fired–three times. A 23+ karat platinum edging is applied, and the piece receives its final fire. We make beauty from dust–a joy for us, and, we hope, a joy for you.