“The whole world, as we experience it visually, comes to us through the mystic realm of color. Our entire being is nourished by it. This mystic quality of color should likewise find expression in a work of art.” ~Hans Hofmann
German-born American Abstract Expressionist Painter, 1880-1966
German-born American Abstract Expressionist Painter, 1880-1966
Spiced Cranberry ~ Aurora Collection Hartmont Candles Fall 2011
What can I say but Hans knew what he was talking about! There is nothing more exciting than finding the perfect color blend and combination that makes a candle look amazing. When I first poured our new Aurora Line, I was excited by the depth of color that I could get with 100% Soy that I never could before doing this technique. Of course, a few weeks of experimentation were required to get the wax and color to do exactly what I wanted but I just whispered to the wax, and it all worked out. I believe my whisper was something like this....”hey wax, let’s behave ourself and turn out looking awesome, okay?” Imagine the happy dance that I was doing when it actually did what I envisioned.
Working with 100% all natural wax certainly has it’s challenges. Soy is notorious for having a mind of it’s own and doing different things within even the same batch depending on the cooling temperature of the room, the humidity, the space between candles, whether or not the Dodgers win and whether or not the wax is a fan of the Dodgers. You get my drift. What I’m saying is that 100% Soy wax is hard to work with. To get it to consistently do anything is a feat unto itself. But once you do tame this wild beast that we call soy wax, it is the most fun wax to work with and I have grown quite fond of it.
I think with the mutual respect that soy and I have for each other from years of learning it’s ways, we have become an awesome team. I cannot wait to see what other little quirks it will reveal to me that I can then make into our next amazing color!
