Zinc silicate crystals usually grow unseen behind a kiln door. Once they go in they’re not coming out for another day or two. I wanted to actually see the growth process and document it as it happened.
Task
Set up a firing that reveals the crystal growth without derailing the glaze or disrupting the firing schedule, and capture enough frames for a time-lapse without endangering the camera.
Action
Mounted a DSLR on a tripod aimed through a vent hole aligned with a vase instead
Fired to 2232°F
Ramped down to 1820°F and held for 4 hours before rising to 1850°F and holding for another hour
During the hold periods
intermittently opened the vent hole quickly
shined a flashlight into the kiln through the vent
captured photos of the growth process
Stitched the frames together into a time-lapse
Result
The time-lapse shows nucleation of new crystals and continued growth of ones already started.
A previous attempt capturing the entire firing cycle.
