Description:
Author Deborah Morgenthal is a firm believer in having candles not simply to sit unlit on a coffee table or to resort to in the case of a power outage, but to use, to buy or create because they are both functional and beautiful. Even more important, perhaps, is the design of the holder that supports the candle. To that end, Morgenthal has assembled a talented team of 26 contributors to offer an intriguing and colorful array of all sorts of candleholders. Fashioned of wood, metal, glass, fabric, paper, wire, found objects, and even vegetables, these candleholders range in style from industrial chic (salvaged machinery parts) to Zenlike (bamboo place mats or black rice paper tied with raffia), Victorian (a large teacup encrusted with cast-off jewelry findings) to funky (a clever and brightly hued menorah built from assorted wooden craft-store bits, or an ingenious reincarnation of an old office rubber stamp holder). Scale and application vary nicely too, from petite votives adorned with celestial designs to multicandle centerpiece arrangements to majestic wooden holders that are actually painted table legs, or towering garden torches resembling calla lilies and easily made from aluminum screening. Sidebars offer helpful tips on such subjects as storing and burning candles, cleaning wax drips from various surfaces, and making container candles. As a bonus, besides simply instructing us in how to make all these imaginative designs, the book includes interesting profiles of candle-related ceremonies--not just Hanukkah and Kwanzaa but also the Swedish St. Lucia Day, the ancient Candlemas, the Brazilian Iemanja Festival, and Thailand's Loi Krathong--and there are instructions for candleholder designs inspired by these international festivities. Above all, this lovely book reminds us how important candles are to celebrations around the world. --Amy Handy
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