Copper & Bronze Metal Clay

Bio:

Renee Runde - Copper & Bronze Metal Clay

Renee has been interested in all things art and crafting for as long as she can remember.  In her early life she focused on painting and drawing, and then in high school discovered metal smithing.  That became her favorite medium, including enameling and centrifugal casting.  She worked towards a BFA in college but then decided to travel the world for a number of years.  After settling in Jacksonville Florida, she moved into corporate life, doing mostly needlecraft and also designing and creating unique and fun trophies for charity events at work.  In 2010, Renee took a wire wrapping class at night at a local high school, and just like that, she was back in metals!  She took numerous classes, moving back into soldering (with creme brûlée torches - who would have thought!) and wire weaving.  Eventually Renee found the Jacksonville Gem & Mineral Society (JGMS) and began taking classes, as well as attending seminars and retreats.  This led to her discovery of metal clays, and she has been on a journey ever since then to learn new techniques and share them with others.  She has taught base metal clay classes at JGMS for approximately three years.  She really likes the “colored” metals of bronze, copper and steel.  They can stand on their own or be used as practice to refine skills and techniques before moving to silver metal clay.  Renee encourages her students to use their imaginations to design and build unique pieces, and shares the joy when pieces surpass what the student thought they could achieve.  Most important of all is to have fun in class and to be inspired to continue working with metal clay!