Easter is very near and like every year since we moved to our mission in California, we need a Paschal Candle (to use in our solemn Easter celebrations).
I remember last year, when we decided to make our own at the last second, and I spent two hours in the the silence of the night to paint it. I could only draw and paint the face of a Risen Christ. It came out ok...but not as I would have liked it to be. It still had its purpose and was used many times.
This year, me and my husband, having no money because of lack of job, couldn't afford to buy a blank brand new candle... so we decided to make our own! We melted the candle from last year plus 3 or 4 extra smaller white candles. We used a big plumbing pipe as a mold, fixed the wick inside and poured the melted wax in it little by little. It has been an exciting job! Especially when we saw the results...it came out GREAT!! Much better than the one we bought last year!
So, the next step was the painting job...which I did. I was hoping to be able to do it calmly this time, but that didn't happen. I spent almost a whole night painting.. I did a more complicate drawing and I decided to cover te candle with gold leaf (the imitation gold..). For the Cross I followed the instructions of the italian iconographer Angelo Vaccarella; I used acrilic colors. Again it didn't come out as good as I had imagined it, I don't have the precision and the patience of an iconographer, but I'm happy with my candle. I'll wait for next year and see what I will be able to accomplish....always in God's will.
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