Laya Crust grew up in Winnipeg, Canada and later moved to Toronto. Laya studied design at the University of Manitoba and studied drawing, painting and printmaking at The Three Schools of Art and at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto. She has also studied with world-renowned artists and calligraphers including Donald Jackson, Reggie Ezell, Leona Faye, and Davis Moss. Besides studying art Laya ha
s taken classes in Jewish Studies at the University of Manitoba, in Toronto, and in Jerusalem studying with Aviva Zorenberg, Rachel Turkienicz, and Rabbi Benjamin Hecht among others. Laya works mainly with paint and inks on paper, but has also done work in a variety of other media including: animal parchment, fabric, glass, clay, and silver. As well as hundreds of original ketuboth, she has created unique ceremonial objects, books, and C.D. Laya has worked on major pieces which have been installed in buildings throughout the world. A collaborative window design has been installed in the Union of Reform. Judaism in Manhattan, N.Y.; a glass wall mosaic is in a home in Jerusalem. Her Torah mantles are in synagogues in the United States and Canada. Laya has been commissioned by major institutions, such as universities, hospitals, and other private institutions, to design gifts which have been presented to inportant philanthropists. Her work is in private collections around the world. Laya and her husband live in Toronto and have six children.
