The game is worth the candle

Red, yellow, orange, purple, green, blue are not all the colours of the rainbow but they can sure create a beautiful candle.

Roger Gauld, owner of Ensky Studios, a custom candle making and crafts studio, demonstrates a simple candle dip, transforming liquid wax into a functioning candle.

A candle starts off at the wick, which is knotted at one end. This piece of string will essentially be dipped into wax over 100 times to create a candle with a 4cm diameter base that tapers to the top.

However, creating a candle is not a simple dipping process. Once the wick has been dipped into its first wax colour, the wick needs to be dipped at least five times for the colour to be prominent in the candle. Between each of the five dips, the wick has to be dipped in water for the wax to set. The water then needs to be wiped off the wax covered wick before it is dipped back into the wax.

If the water droplets are not wiped off, a bubble will be created under the wax which will subsequently pop and crackle when the candle is lit and the wax melts.

Ensky studios, at the Ngwenya Glass Village, is particularly popular among the younger generations with a range of crafts suited to children. The crafts include candle dipping, candle painting, sand art, mosaic art and jewelry making among others.

Details: Ensky Studios, 083 611 4350.

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