Flower Candle Making - Shiroda, Goa
In the making of candle art, it is essential that the fuel being used is heated to the required temperature and maintained at that temperature for the making process duration. The equipment used for heating will depend on the source of heat available. The most important aspect of being considered while using equipment is safety. It is important to note that the wax should not be overheated; heating above 150°C can result in unpleasant and dangerous fumes being given off. This process takes around an hour. It is also very important to prevent wax from being spilled onto a naked flame, as this would present a very serious fire hazard. A double boiling method is used to melt the wax. One of the most common ways of producing a decorative candle is to use colour. It is possible to make coloured candles in two ways by dyeing the wax before making the candles, so that 'solid' coloured candles are produced. The addition of a small amount of fat to the paraffin wax is necessary to obtain bright colours. It is possible to use either dyes or pigments to colour candle wax. The supplier should recommend the amount of dyestuff required per kilogram of wax. As the amount of colouring material required to give a particular shade depends on the composition of the wax mixture, this figure should be used as a guide only, and different proportions of dyestuff are used until the required shade is obtained. In general, a much greater proportion of dyestuff is required for over-dipping than for producing 'solid' coloured candles. When the wax is in the liquid state, it would be poured on a plate with a little lower surface from the edges to store the wax by not letting it spill out. The wax will be kept for cooling purposes. That will help in getting a shape. Once the wax gets cool artisan takes a knife and cuts the wax as per the required shape. To make a flower candle, artisan cut the wax in a circular or semi-circle shape. After cutting the wax from the plate, the first procedure is to roll it in the shape of a petal by keeping a thread in-between the wax piece. After the first step, more wax petals are cut and rolled around each other to form a flower's shape. Then the flower candle is ready to use as a decorative candle, which is used for alternate purposes like parties, dinners, festivals, etc.
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