Crystal Creations By
Tobias Koch
Welcome to the mesmerizing world of Bismuth Crystals, where artistry meets natural wonder. Delve into the captivating allure of Bismuth and explore the unique creations of artist Tobias Koch.
Bismuth Crystal Geode
A rainbow city in a bowl
My name is Tobias and I live in North Vancouver, British Columbia. As we all have had our challenges during COVID, I additionally have been dealing with some mental health issues, like many people have or continue to face. During a low period, I came across a piece of bismuth that I had found as a young child. I got this inner feeling that I had to research more about it, something drew me to this piece of silvery shiny metal. One thing lead to another, and I found myself attempting to make a crystal. After four months of experimenting, I have made hundreds of crystals and geodes (in temperatures ranging from +9C to -7C as I work outdoors in my carport!). Creating these magical pieces has not only given me a sense of calm, but also a sense of extreme accomplishment, pride and purpose during a time when the world seems to be in chaos. To create from scratch; a unique and beautiful piece of work truly confirms that Bismuth stones are transformational!
Every single crystal, cube or geode that I make turns out different and unique each time. The photos show you examples of bismuth crystals and geodes I have previously made. While they give you a good idea of what your particular piece may look like; please remember that each piece created is truly UNIQUE! No two are ever the same. All of my work is “as you see it”, no soldering, photo-editing or altering of crystals has occurred. Once finished, I file the edges of the geode to ensure the maximum amount of natural light finds its way to the crystals within.
My greatest pleasure is not knowing what will come out at the end of my “bisemetum weisse mass (German for white mass) process. To discover the incredible crystal cities that emerge in pristine condition from the geodes once I have opened them, is an amazing feeling that I would like to share with others.
My plan is to make all of the items listed over the next 30 days. I have most of my own tools, and space to work outdoors. I have gained quite a bit of experience over these past 4 months, and believe this to be a very realistic timeline based on my production process. Material, although salvagable and reusable; is expensive. To make a 750g geode requires approximately 4 kg of raw bismuth. Purchasing bismuth is expensive (approximately 20.00/kg) so the money raised through this project will be used towards cost of the raw bismuth which will allow me to create amazing healing crystals and geodes for people, encouraging a calm acceptance of change to “all that is”
A bit about bismuth…. Bismuth is a natural element #83 on the periodic table. It’s atomic symbol is Bi and has an atomic mass of 209. Bismuth can be used to make many things as it is non-toxic: examples include replacement for lead, fishing lures and pep-bismal. When cooled slowly, bismuth will form hopper crystals (stair case formations) which is what many of the rainbow coloured crystals are. Bismuth is 86% dense as lead.