Dieter Kandziora
SEEING THE LIGHT

My life is a journey with many stations. Nothing is static!

My interest in candles started to grow in 1970.

Due to my profession as an engineer, a huge gap arose through not being able to work with my hands and this gap had to be filled. Because at that time candles got to be to expensive for me - today I've become to expensive - I had the idea of making candles myself. Experimenting with different techniques then began.

This was the moment of a new and my present profession.
Even today it is still a lot of fun to experiment and to create the conditions for making something new. Thus I continuously improve my techniques with other materials by experimentation and thereby the quality of the candles. I like the most difficult things the best.

Light - the candle - always was and remains something special, something mystical and not self-evident. It is therefore quite remarkable that such a life-important and valuable artefact such as the light-giving candle has, up till now, has been neglected with regard to its making-by-hand. All natural materials were refined by handwork and their values raised by to valuable goods. Certainly this has to do with the raw materials used. Beeswax cannot directly be formed by hand! It was poured, dipped and decorated.
It was first with the technical development of refining that artificial waxes of many different types came into being. These were made into candles utilising known industrial techniques with machinery. I used the rolling of honeycomb wax as a model and thought to myself, "Why are you an engineer?", rolling also has to be possible with paraffins. I developed special mixing ratios corresponding to the old teachings on zinc and lead.

In this way, a new handwork was created!
Rolled candle art

Materials science was my weakest subject when I studied - how could I know that this would take the most important place in my profession. By experimenting with so many different waxes and materials, I developed a good feeling for the most different requirements so that now I can simply make anything with the highest quality. Theory is important, but knowledge and experience will always have the greater significance.
Thus the art of candle-making with just a short visit is difficult to bring over.

I hope that you, dear visitors and surfers, will appreciate this. all that I can show in my studio/workshop is candle dipping. explanation of further procedures lead possibly to frustration.

In my workshop, groups of approx. 10 persons, by appointment, are welcome to dip beeswax candles, colour candles, dip Christmas tree candles ten at-a-time and try their hand at rolling candles.

To underline the symbolic significance of candle light and to exhibit my hand-crafted products, I celebrate a

FESTIVAL OF LIGHT

in November each year. I am already looking forward to your visit.

Dieter Kandziora

candlelight123
www.candlebar.de