Candle and Lamp Light
Mar. 12th, 2007 10:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
helwenLast night, a bit before 10, I decided I would take a walk around the first floor. I know, it would have been better to walk during the day, but I was on the road yesterday, and the day before as well. And lovely times those were, learning things, talking to people, helping out with fittings and such. Nevertheless, last night I was feeling heavy and blocked in some way, and decided a walk would help to clear some things away.
I didn't want to use the overhead lights or even either of the usual reading lamps in the living/dining room, just for navigating the room, so I turned on the small Japanese "lantern" light (rectangular, wood & rice paper). I took a tour around a few times, then thought, "this doesn't feel right". There were some candles right by the lantern, so I lit those and turned off the lantern, and also the light in the kitchen, since the candles were right by the doorway into that room.
Took a turn around the first floor. Still not right. Go further. Move one candle into the kitchen.
Take another turn. Go further -- the light in the hallway needed to be off. Off it went, and even though it was too dark, I immediately started to feel better. So I moved another of the candles to the table in the dining room, and lit two small candles that are in the front hallway, where they reflect very nicely off the light-colored walls and the hall mirror.
Suddenly, as I walked the circuit, I had the feeling of having returned 'home'. In the shadowed rooms the warm golden light of the flames lit my way both for foot and spirit, and I was accompanied by kindred spirits in my walk.
Perhaps it was the color/quality of the light. Or perhaps it was the lack of vibration and buzzing that is the companion of even the best fluorescent lights. Perhaps the softening of edges of modernity and the clutter of projects in progress creates a more peaceful place to be. I suspect all three, and maybe a little more. Perhaps using the candles to disconnect from power from outside _reconnected_ the house to the rest of the actual world, the place in which it resides instead of some faraway power plant.
***
Of course, candles and oil lamps a generally manufactured, so there is modern fossil fuel power involved in their crafting. And if you make your own, chances are you're buying the materials from someone else (but you might be able to buy locally-produced supplies). And paraffin is a petroleum product, which can no longer be found on the surface (paraffin oil) -- most of the candles in the house are paraffin, beeswax being more costly, and increasingly rare in this country, with the bee problems. But after some discussion with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fitzw, we think that there is still less CO2 released by using candles and oil lamps than by using electricity.
Currently I have a lot of candles in stock from when I used to marble them for sale, so no need to make our own just yet! Although we have books on making them (of course!), and even a taper mold and some wicking and such. So, it looks like at some point we'll do some learning about candlemaking this year. I'd like to start by making them on the stove top (electric, but saving on transport, packaging, etc.), then try out making them outdoors over charcoal or wood. And now I'm wondering if there is anyone who makes charcoal locally... and I might pick up a pillar mold at some point, maybe with my next JoAnn's 40% off coupon...
We'll also be working on making/getting candle reflectors. It was amazing how much light the candles cast. For normal use, we wouldn't have candles lit in all the rooms, as usually we're reading, weaving, and other more sedentary activities, so two candles will suffice. Once you're used to the light level, you can read by one candle for a short while, but two would be better, and the reflectors would make the lighting that much brighter. Some nights we might only need one, but if we're both doing things, it would be nice to have the option of two workstations. Plus, a second candle means one can go into the kitchen or bathroom without the other person being left in the dark :D
The oil lamps may be a bit more efficient in their use of fuel/hour, but they don't seem to cast as much light as the candles. A reflector may help with that as well, in which case I can see using them in some places instead of candles.
I didn't want to use the overhead lights or even either of the usual reading lamps in the living/dining room, just for navigating the room, so I turned on the small Japanese "lantern" light (rectangular, wood & rice paper). I took a tour around a few times, then thought, "this doesn't feel right". There were some candles right by the lantern, so I lit those and turned off the lantern, and also the light in the kitchen, since the candles were right by the doorway into that room.
Took a turn around the first floor. Still not right. Go further. Move one candle into the kitchen.
Take another turn. Go further -- the light in the hallway needed to be off. Off it went, and even though it was too dark, I immediately started to feel better. So I moved another of the candles to the table in the dining room, and lit two small candles that are in the front hallway, where they reflect very nicely off the light-colored walls and the hall mirror.
Suddenly, as I walked the circuit, I had the feeling of having returned 'home'. In the shadowed rooms the warm golden light of the flames lit my way both for foot and spirit, and I was accompanied by kindred spirits in my walk.
Perhaps it was the color/quality of the light. Or perhaps it was the lack of vibration and buzzing that is the companion of even the best fluorescent lights. Perhaps the softening of edges of modernity and the clutter of projects in progress creates a more peaceful place to be. I suspect all three, and maybe a little more. Perhaps using the candles to disconnect from power from outside _reconnected_ the house to the rest of the actual world, the place in which it resides instead of some faraway power plant.
***
Of course, candles and oil lamps a generally manufactured, so there is modern fossil fuel power involved in their crafting. And if you make your own, chances are you're buying the materials from someone else (but you might be able to buy locally-produced supplies). And paraffin is a petroleum product, which can no longer be found on the surface (paraffin oil) -- most of the candles in the house are paraffin, beeswax being more costly, and increasingly rare in this country, with the bee problems. But after some discussion with
fitzw, we think that there is still less CO2 released by using candles and oil lamps than by using electricity. Currently I have a lot of candles in stock from when I used to marble them for sale, so no need to make our own just yet! Although we have books on making them (of course!), and even a taper mold and some wicking and such. So, it looks like at some point we'll do some learning about candlemaking this year. I'd like to start by making them on the stove top (electric, but saving on transport, packaging, etc.), then try out making them outdoors over charcoal or wood. And now I'm wondering if there is anyone who makes charcoal locally... and I might pick up a pillar mold at some point, maybe with my next JoAnn's 40% off coupon...
We'll also be working on making/getting candle reflectors. It was amazing how much light the candles cast. For normal use, we wouldn't have candles lit in all the rooms, as usually we're reading, weaving, and other more sedentary activities, so two candles will suffice. Once you're used to the light level, you can read by one candle for a short while, but two would be better, and the reflectors would make the lighting that much brighter. Some nights we might only need one, but if we're both doing things, it would be nice to have the option of two workstations. Plus, a second candle means one can go into the kitchen or bathroom without the other person being left in the dark :D
The oil lamps may be a bit more efficient in their use of fuel/hour, but they don't seem to cast as much light as the candles. A reflector may help with that as well, in which case I can see using them in some places instead of candles.
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no subject
Date: 2007-03-12 05:15 pm (UTC)Have you tried the glass sphere (betta bowls work) filled with water in front of the candle?
no subject
Date: 2007-03-12 07:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-12 05:57 pm (UTC)Interesting factoid...beeswax was always fairly rare. Most people before the 19th century used either rushlights or beef tallow candles - beeswax was reserved for ecclesiastical use or the rich because it didn't smell like, well, cooking meat :). Bayberry was used in New England for a while, but it's so tough to harvest that it's reserved for the holidays.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-12 06:38 pm (UTC)Nowadays, there are also soy candles and stuff like that. But I'm not sure I'm up to growing and pressing oil either -- at least, not in the large quantities that would be needed for making a year's worth of candles! Now if someone else in the area is doing it, well, perhaps some bartering could be done :)
Yankee Candle has some tallow candles for sale, near the historical candlemaking room. It actually smells nice there, since mostly you smell bayberries and beeswax. The tallow is so well purified that it smells fine and burns quite cleanly.
It's true that beeswax has always been more rare for candles than other things, but my concern these days is the problem with hives collapsing.
I made a candle when I was a bluebird -- dip candle. And like as not if we ever choose to make a bunch of candles, they'll be dip candles -- no molds needed, so cheaper to make in some ways, and definitely fewer storage issues.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-13 12:03 pm (UTC)I save fat from cooking and make soap out of it. Have for years. Tapers shed a lot of light, and a lot of soot. I love them. I read by candlelight every night. Too many, though, make my asthma kick up.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-13 03:22 pm (UTC)I'm so not surprised to hear you save fat for making soap :D Considering you raise critters and all. So, if we raise critters in a few years, that may happen as well. Although I've heard that one can ask the butcher if he has fatty bits that he's cut off and is going to throw out.... I think I'll save that for another time as well though -- this year I have to prove I can weave well enough to maybe sell some of it, and that means spending lots of time weaving (when I'm not painting, gardening, or....)... you know how it is.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-12 06:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-12 06:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-12 06:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-12 06:46 pm (UTC)I think after they hardened we put them in the fridge or freezer to break the seal between the glass and the wax. We even used some tall cone-shaped glasses (for milk shakes or something). For some reason those spit and sputtered occasionally in the beginning -- and they were red -- so we called those the volcano candles.
This could be fun :)
no subject
Date: 2007-03-12 07:55 pm (UTC)And I do so love candle-light....
no subject
Date: 2007-03-12 08:37 pm (UTC)I'm finding that when I'm spending a lot of time traveling, being busy with many things, learning more about the world and how it works, that I get overwhelmed at times. When that happens, I'd like nothing better than to disconnect from all of it, which of course can't really be done... to be able to reconnect with what is around me was a real gift. I think I'll be giving that gift to myself more often!
Re: soy candles
Date: 2007-03-13 01:23 am (UTC)http://www.soya.be/soy-wax-production.php
(making the wax, that is. Making the candles might be fun)
Re: soy candles
Date: 2007-03-13 02:13 am (UTC)That was interesting to read about, though. Thanks.