Collection: Liz Reynolds

Liz Reynolds has a background in pottery and textiles. She studied ceramics at OCAD and, for a number of years, worked in the Textile Department of the ROM. She discovered metal clay in 2004 and was thrilled at the possibility of combining the patterns and textures familiar to textiles with clay, using her old pottery hand-building techniques. She has studied with local artists and internationally-known metal clay masters including Kate McKinnon, Hadar Jacobson & Wanaree Tanner. Her jewellery is sold under the name Bija, a Sandskrit word meaning ‘seed’. Metal Clay is a relatively new material, originating in Japan in 1990. It consists of very small particles of metal such as silver, bronze, copper or steel mixed with an organic binder and water. After drying, the metal clay piece is fired in a jewellery kiln in a reduced oxygen environment. The binder burns away, leaving the pure sintered metal with a density of approximately 90% of cast metal.