What I did:
Cultured different crystals to grow on different surfaces.
Why I did it:
I was interested in the idea of growth and natural substances. Also, I have always been drawn to crystals - consequently, I felt immediately attached to the idea of growing my own.
What I found interesting about it:
I enjoyed the unpredictability of the whole affair. It's slightly risky, as you have no idea how the surface will react to the crystals, or whether the crystals will grow at all. You can wait days with no results if the solution isn't correct, so there's also an undertone of science that needs to be taken care of. I enjoy that "challenge", not to mention it also makes succeeding so much more thrilling.
I enjoy the fact that no two crystals are alike, and you cannot control them. The shapes that form are entirely organic. They can be sharp or flat, large or small, and many different colours, but all the results are completely natural. You can alter conditions slightly but ultimately, you have to rely on nature. I love that I am handing my artwork over to the elements.
Pro:
Unique and unpredictable results.
Con:
Unique and unpredictable results.
Why I want to continue:
I think there is limitless possibility in working with the growth of crystals. Not only scientifically, but in terms of finding inspiration for paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures and more. Growing the crystals is just the beginning of their potential.
The fact that I have already experimented with crystals before this project means that the worst mistakes have already been made, and I can focus on honing and developing my present skill set to create something beautiful. The only issue is how.
How I plan to start:
I gathered materials that I thought I could grow crystals on.
Starting with Pom Poms.
I chose to use Pom Poms because they are incredibly fibrous, and I like to believe that the crystal particles could latch onto/inbetween each and every one of them to completely engulf them.
(theoretically)
I plan to grow white/transparent crystals on the pom poms using Borax (sodium borate).
Process:
1. Boil water - add borax and boiling water to container and gradually stir in borax until no more will dissolve (creating a saturated solution).
2. Immediately suspend pom-pom into solution using string - tape the string to the outside of the container so that the pom pom does not move whilst resting
3. Allow to slowly cool in a safe place for 8+ hours. The particles of borax will cling to the surface of the pom pom as they cool - as they cool they will solidify into crystal formations.
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| Straight after mixing the solution |
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| After around half an hour - the particles have begun to settle. They are visible on the surface of the pompom. I found this video online, which is a good documentation of how the crystals form: Hours are condensed into seconds. |
I also attempted the same process with not one, but 3 pompoms.
Learn about the wasp in a later post. For now, here are the results of these minor first experiments.
These images were taken immediately after removing the pompoms from the beakers. They are wet and incredibly shiny.
Although the crystals are not consistent throughout the entire pompom, I enjoy the way that you can peek through to the soft fibres underneath. It makes for a pleasant juxtaposition between hard and sharp, to soft and round.
Products:
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| I enjoy how the shadows look like mountains. |
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| I think that the contrast between soft and harsh in this image is very effective. |
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| I love this image because of its simplicity, and how it captures the larger crystals on the small pompom. Evaluation: Strengths: Some strong crystal formations. Vivid colour contrast between the blues and the white crystals. The element of photography takes away any size restraints. They seem much larger in the photographs. The viewer does not know for sure how large they are, as there is no comparison. In reality, they barely fill the palm of my hand (and my hands are small). They look like they are covered in snow or ice. Weaknesses: Delicate. Parts of solid crystal are hard and durable, but there are crystals that are quite literally hanging from threads. Parts of the pompoms were missed altogether by the crystals. Partially my own fault.
What will I do next time?:
Next time I plan to follow an instructional guide when forming crystals. I would like to create large and solid crystals, if only to prove that I can.
I plan to follow this. : http://www.danslelakehouse.com/2015/01/diy-borax-crystals.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PAPER PLATES + BORAX Whilst I was experimenting with the pom-poms, I also experimented with some plates alongside them. 
I wanted to see if I could culture crystals on plates, to create a crystal formation with a wide area that I could then photograph or experiment with (or even use as a background for later photography.)
I used the same logic as before:
fibrous substances should form more crystals, because there is more penetrable surface area for the particles to latch onto
I thought that kitchen roll would be perfect, because it is DESIGNED to absorb liquid substances and retain them.  I made two plates: One with a flat, even layer of kitchen roll, and one with randomly placed, scrunched up kitchen roll. I created a saturated solution of borax and water - but instead of suspending the plates or kitchen roll inside the solution, I used a paint brush to apply the solution directly to the kitchen roll. Afterwards, I sprinkled some raw borax powder on top of the plates for good measure.  Here is the plate after I had applied the borax solution and borax powder. (Scrunched up towels) For the flat plate, I decided to experiment with colour. I read online that you can add food colouring to borax solutions to colour the crystals. I didn't have any food colouring, so I opted to use watercolour paints. See below.  I hoped that the crystals would absorb the pigment as they formed - or if they didn't, that the pigment would show through the translucent crystals.  I added more borax and more water for good measure. I felt like the more borax I used, the more chance of successful crystals. I then left the plates for 2 or 3 days. RESULTS:   I found the results very anticlimactic - I didn't get the crystal formations that I wanted, but they are interesting all the same. Just a bit flatter than I intended The crystals on the flat plate were very fragile and crumbled easily. On the other hand, the crystals that formed on the scrunched up tissues were much more stable - the only issue is that they were not attached to the plate, only to eachother. Below: Beginning to crumble 
Below: The tissues separated completely from the plate beneath.
 I also found that the colours were very muted. Watercolour may not have been the best option.  Since they were crumbling anyway, I decided to force the plate to crumble altogether so that I could harvest the crystals and see what was left.   
I found that the crystals, having been separated from the plate, were much more interesting now. They had broken into natural shapes, and they seemed to glimmer much more.
I collected them into a box to save for later.
 
Below is an image of the colourful plate AFTER I brushed off all of the "crystals".
The colours are much more vivid. It has an interesting texture close up.
 
But I was not done experimenting.
I decided to work into the plate with watercolour one more time, to see how the remaining crystals would react to vivid colour.
It was difficult to paint, because the remaining tiny crystals reacted to the water and stuck to the wet brush.
Here is the result of adding watercolour paint. It seemed to sink underneath the crystals, allowing them to shine and glimmer on top of the pigment.
I find that this image looks like a starry night sky, or perhaps a galaxy in space.
A photograph of the same subject, in slightly different lighting.
Reflection: I didn't particularly enjoy the results of this experiment. I may not return to it. Although, I did learn how crystals form outside of water. I feel that my issue here was that the borax particles were not suspended in water - I think that the particles must be much more weightless in water, in order to form the organic shapes. Also... I was unable to apply much heat to the solution since it was going onto a paper plate rather than a sturdy container. I gathered some interesting photographs from this experiment, but that is about it. If I ever planned to attempt this again, I would fully submerge a plate in a saturated solution rather than leaving it dry. Development: I would like to return to using natural substances, so I headed out to Needham Lakes at the beginning of Autumn to harvest some leaves.  |
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