Taller de Obsidiana is not only a workshop, but a potential design studio that transforms different stones (obsidian stone mainly) into gorgeous jewelry, an iPhone case, an USB and beyond. Their workshop is located near Teotihuacán where the Aztec civilization was developed.
Even though they have their own products, they take personal design projects from all over the globe. If my memory doesn´t fails, last task was a gigantic obsidian mirror for an astronomer.
Me and two friends had the opportunity to have a 6 hours workshop where we learned about the 12 types of obsidian stone (golden, silver, green, brown, rainbow/mantohuichol, purple, etc), it´s hardness, how to get it from the mines, how is manipulated and finally with all the wisdom and supervision, we made a pendant and a figure to use as jewelry.
Obviously, I took some pictures of the place, the stones, the design process and the production of our pieces. Have a look, learn about this volcanic stone and the hands that shape it.
The Place
San Juan Teotihuacán
What We Learned
Where is a volcano, there´s Obsidiana. Yes, this stone is not only Mexican, the difference between other countries civilizations and ours is, that we did used it.
Even though this workshop is in Teotihuacán, near Popocatepetl volcano (unpronounceable for foreigners) the best places to find this stone are La Lobera in Guadalajara and Pachuca. This is because most of the mineral is under the soil and has an excellent quality.
Frail and sharp, Obsidiana is a glass composed of silicates (atoms in constant movement) that needs not to have drastic temperature changes or else it can easily break. For this reason it is better to extract the
stone in a profundity of 4 meters (13ft) or more where there´s no sun´s
heat.
The Design Process
The Manufacture
The workshop tries to use the most material as possible, so we took some waste material for making our templates of resin and small pieces of obsidian stone left in the ground.
Try it!!
Taller Obsidiana
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