Santa Clara del Cobre
There’s a little town in the state of Michoacan, Mx called Santa clara del Cobre, a town where working with copper is a long lasting tradition.
Every copper piece in this town is handmade, using traditional techniques and processes. Their craftsmanship takes a lot of experience and patience.
In the past, copper was extracted from mines in the same region, now, they recycle scraps to make all their work.
Pine wood is used to melt the scraps. They dig a little hole in the center of the coal and place the copper to be melted until it’s fused together.
The scraps are melted to a temperature of 1,981 F (1,083 C) to create a copper half sphere. Before it cools down, its chiseled into smaller pieces so it’s easier to work with. Each piece is really heavy.
Using hammers, they extend those copper pieces to form a plate shape. This is done by several people hammering at the same time, it requires a lot of direction and coordination.
Below you can see photos of artisans hammering copper in the 70’s.
They heat the piece, which softens the metal, and hammer to start shaping and forming.
Hammering hardens the metal, so this process of heating and hammering it’s done several times.
They use a variety of hammers to give different textures to the piece.
They make their own hammers depending on what they need to achieve.
Once the piece is forged to the desired shape, they use water or sulfuric acid to clean the oxidation. In the past they used cow manure to clean it, as it had a similar reaction with copper.
Depending on the desired finish, a hammer is used to make a pattern and get a shining effect on copper.
These are some of the examples of their work, everything made from copper scraps using ancient techniques.
There’s a Copper Fair every year, were people and artisans gather to show their work.
References:
Personal visit to Santa Clara del Cobre in Michoacan, Mexico
Copper Museum of Santa Clara del Cobre