Despite British Summer Time it gets a tad darker each day. Oh well.People moving on today, my people - good people. I wish them all luck and know that I’ll miss them - they’ve taught me a lot and we’ve had some good times.
Sometimes when I’m in Wales I make candles from empty Pringle tubes. It’s easy, all I do is make a hole in the centre of the bottom of the tub, pull some wick twine through the hole, tie the twine off at the bottom and seal around it with some blu-tack to stop the wax escaping. I make sure that the wick is kept central in the tube by laying a stick across the top of the tube and tie the wick to it in the centre.
When I’ve prepared my mould I melt some wax in an old aluminium saucepan that Gaynor graciously gave to me and when it’s melted I pour the wax into the tube - and… viola - a candle!
I use old bits of used (and thus recycled) candles for my wax, they work fine – very green. Sometimes I pack the tub with chunks of broken coloured candle, graduated red to yellow or purple to green, and simply pour white wax over them – it gives a good effect – sometimes marble, other times splodgey, it all depends on how hot the white wax is.
Best be careful not to get the wax too hot, if you do the candle will turn out a really dull colour -and don’t be tempted to peel away the cardboard Pringle tube wrapper before the candle is set – leave it overnight.
To remove the Pringle tube mould, look at the bottom of the tube and you’ll find the start of a cardboard spiral – once you’ve broken into this it’s easy to peel the Pringle tube away.
You never know how the candle is going to turn out until you remove the tube - it’s quite exciting. Sometimes the results are great, other times not – but they all do what they are meant to… ward off the shadows and give a little light.
Anyway… best of luck and thanks to my friends Glynne, Nicki, Steve and Phil, it really was a pleasure working with you… I hope you can say the same of me.
Candle Making
Take a mould,
Some twine to use as wick.
White wax or coloured,
It makes no odds,
Tall or short or thick.
A candle is a candle,
To give a little light,
A candle to burn softly,
To light us through the night.
There is no darkness
That in this world untrue
Can stop light from my candle
Shine out and darkness through.
Make one or two.
You’ll see,
It’s true.
Nicola is now making candles Andi and I told her about your Pringle trick but at the moment she's enjoying buying all the stuff from scratch - we all know what we're getting for Christmas and birthdays!
ReplyDeleteI too will miss Glynne, Nicki, Phil and Steve - keep lighting your candles for them Andi to guide them on their way, they are all good people who deserve to succeed.
I was going to write a reply on here last night but gave up after trying a number of times. I couldn't get out what I really wanted to say.
ReplyDeleteAndy you are really good at making things, candles, beach sculptures, cider (I think), food, blogs, paintings, funny wine glasses, stone collections, stamp collections, snow globe collections, shells. What I makes you special though is you don't just collect things, you look after them and display them in such a way that people get to see things they wouldn't normally get to see.
It was a pleasure working with you, and I learnt a lot from you too. Keep collecting things and showing people what you see.
I shall miss all your team too Andi. They have all been professional and a real pleasure to work with, learn from and socialise with. I wish them all the best of luck.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of candles, I used to make wax sculptures in my artistic youth... the approach would not meet any health and safety standards today though...
1. Fill a sink to the brim with ice cold water.
2. Melt some old candles, preferably mixed colours.
2. Pour the melted wax onto a saucer.
3. Very quickly holding the saucer with two hands, immerse in the ice cold water, twisting the saucer as you go.
Voila! there you have your wax sculpture...
I enjoyed it too and have learnt a lot. I know that the next time I buy some Pringles, I won't throw the tube away - I'll keep it and try what you suggest. There's something special about candles - I have a collection of them - they always brighten up a dark room. Along with the flickering light come both hope and warmth.
ReplyDelete