Artist's Biography

Erika Laureano was born in Hartford, Connecticut. She grew up in the New England area, surrounded by art and inspiration. Her fascination began when watching her mother, an artist and painter, work with enormous canvases in her attic studio; remembering tubes of brightly colored paints, various brushes and tools sparked her interest of the arts. She spent the remainder of her childhood behind-the-scenes at her mother’s art and framing galleries, meeting remarkable artists and learning about their individual experiences.

Erika went on to attend Virginia Commonwealth University, with a focus in fashion design as well as ceramics, painting and figurative drawing. After graduating with a bachelor’s associate degree in Fashion Design, Erika attended Lorenzo di Medici in Florence and the University per Staneri in Perugia, Italy. There she continued to study language, art history, figurative drawing and painting. Surrounded by an abundance of 15th and 16th century art throughout her time in Italy fueled her captivation with its rich colors, flowing lines, dramatic history and presentations. Eventually, she returned to the United States and traveled to New York City to work with various menswear and women’s couture designers. During that time, she furthered her abilities and honed her skills in the fashion design industry.

At Seattle’s very own Danaca Design, a metalworking and jewelry fabrication studio founded in 2010, Erika become proficient with metalsmithing techniques and continued her education over the next nine years. In that period, she perfected her craft, studied the concept of jewelry design and acquired a new vocabulary in the arts. She was also able to learn from the creative techniques from some of the nation’s top renowned jewelry artists.

Soon after, Erika opened her first retail location in downtown North Bend, Washington. It is there that she continues to gain additional insight, establish new relationships within the jewelry industry and meet one-on-one with her clientele. Each year brings new opportunities and evolution.

Her work is found in over a dozen locations throughout Washington State. She has established her name and business in a number of galleries, museum shops in Seattle and is expanding across country in similar venues.

To date, Erika has succeeded due to her strength, perseverance, training, and talent. She worked hard to develop her distinctive style, became a business-owner, even held a board position on the Seattle Metals Guild. When she is not in the studio, she appears at craft shows and art exhibitions. Her most important task is being a loving mother to her wonderful children.

Jewelry Statement

Art is about perspective. It is very personal and sacred to me. It involves and pertains to time, location, emotion, attraction, growth, acceptance, and freedom. I strive for harmony and balance in my work. With metalsmithing there is much more of a defined process that must be learned and mastered before the completion of a wearable art piece. This process has forced me to take time with the engineering of the design, developing a step-by-step process with precision. This goal has become an essential practice that I was not accustomed to. This metamorphosis is both intriguing and challenging. I continue to gain insight and inspiration from those around me.

I have been fortunate to be exposed to the jewelry art world through an established Seattle metalsmith studio. The owner, along with a handful of amazing local and national jewelry artists, has been my mentors and guide through the early stages of this wondrous, ever evolving, journey.

My collection for 2013 consists of precious metal pieces created through the lost waxed carving process. Derived from the memories of my summers in Maine, my creativity was influenced from the many hours spent in and out of the water. The drip-castle ring I created, with the lost wax carving process, is a result from my wondrous years in Maine.

Chemistry is the driving force behind my 2014 collection of color on metal, where I have spent countless hours experimenting with recipes and the patination process. I enjoy influencing and enhancing the appearance of metal by any means possible. Embossing, hammering, forging, sinking and raising: whatever it takes. Coloring with various methods of hot and cold patina recipes I have experimented with, as well as enameling and incorporating glass reflector balls are both techniques that have put this collection together.

Jewelry by Erika Laureano • All Jewelry • All Artists