Renee Mathies
Renee is a member of Smoky Mountain Firecrackers. She joined us in 2009.
Renee has always loved earrings, and when she couldn't find ones that she liked, she decided to learn to make her own. Friends and family convinced her to branch out and start making necklaces and bracelets, as well. She had so many compliments that she decided to start selling her jewelry creations at craft shows. At one of these shows, she met an artist that made the beads for her own jewelry, and she explained the process of "lampworking". Renee was fascinated, so she found a class, bought a small torch and practiced. But she found lampworking on her own frustrating and eventually put it aside. Then she met the Firecrackers, and got excited about lampworking again because everyone was so willing to share their techniques and ideas. Renee feels that this sharing and encouragement has made a big difference in her work, and is glad to have a group of fun, artistic people to share information with.