a collection of candles i made
i've been feeling antsy from not having played around with my candle supplies in awhile. an exception was the weekend after thanksgiving, when a couple of friends came over and each left with their own candle. those were fragranced and poured in recycled jars, though, and i had said almost a year ago how i wanted to go more sculptural. the problem is that i didn't know where to start, which is a common roadblock to my creativity.
my urge to wait until i have sketched designs lead to me not making any for so long, so i decided to try an experiment: fill as many of my variety of polygonal molds over a couple of days with different colors, then then put together those wax building blocks in a way that would make a cohesive collection. the following is the output of that experiment:
my first candle collection
i can say i did a good job at cohesion because the candles just happen to fit in pairs, not something i did intentionally. the first one is a pair simply because i broke the base when trying to wick it, so i figured i'd break the other piece and make them siblings.
i love how the colors came out, and i think its simplicity is beautiful. i used a heat gun to smooth the broken ends a little which i think was a nice touch.
originally i was only going to make a video melting of one of the candles, as i didn't want the final collection to have two super similar candles, but i loved how the candle melted. so instead of reusing the wax, i just put in a new wick.
by the way, i intentionally did not prioritize burn time/functionality of the candles. i was going for something different, and more structural than functional - kind of like the decorative soaps your stepmom's aunt kept in her bathroom.
these candles remind me of those photos of kids before and after their first days of school.
right before i poured the wax for these, i got a couple of molds for candy at michael's, one with a variety leaves and the other some gems. they don't work so great for wax but i was able to get some nice ones to add, especially to make the spheres look like fruit.
it was quite laborious to get wicks in these molds. fortunately, a few of my clay tools came in handy and i was particularly patient during the days i worked on these - especially after i had broken the first block used in the first two candles.
another difficult part was getting the pieces to stick together. there are a number of ways to go about it, and i managed to fuck up each one along the way, but that's what experimenting is for: getting in one's practice and breaking - and/or melting - shit.
this is like an abstract rose. it was kind of a breakthrough realizing how many ideas i actually had for abstract sculptures once i had the wax (cooled and cured) in my hand. the flower was simple, but moving to me.
the candles that look like the kind of buildings where everyone would surely roll off and die at a light gust of wind were the most exciting for me to make, as well as the most difficult to put together.
playing with shapes and colors is super fun with wax, but playing with the wick placement, too, made the entire project really enriching for me. it was especially nice how all the pairs came together to make a unique, cohesive collection - exactly what i was aiming for.
this experiment was a lot of fun, and i learned so much about the possibilities - and limitations - of wax. i used soy pillar wax and liquid dye, all from candle science. i already have a new experiment cooling and curing right now that i cannot wait to show you so, so soon.
xoxo jenn
i appreciate you reading this far! as engaged as you are, you may want to also subscribe to my youtube channel. i am streaming there instead of twitch these days - it's where i first showed off these candles, and will be uploading more timelapses of candle rejects melting.
