The buzz of creativity Candle-maker finds inspiration in beauty of beeswax The Creators
By: AV Kitching Posted: 3:00 AM CDT Saturday, Apr. 6, 2024

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This article was published 06/04/2024 (828 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Working late into the night by candlelight, a wax-stained smock thrown over her dress, Lynsey Sable pours into silicone moulds the melted beeswax she picked up earlier in the day from an apiary just a 15-minute drive from her La Broquerie home.

There the wax will settle and set overnight, transforming into candles ready for her to pop out when she wakes up in the morning.

There are egg-shaped candles in a pastel hues; intricate tapers in sunset shades; ombré candles that are ramrod straight; forests of firs in blacks and acid greens, yellows and blues; and chunky multi-coloured blocks, hand-carved while the wax was still warm and pliable.

Sable, 41, is currently working on a run of 150 candles, which she’s dyed soft peach, orange and pink, colours she extracted from the hoary puccoon, one of her favourite native wildflowers.

The candles, a mixture of elegant tapers and delicate florals, are destined for the Winnipeg Art Gallery’s Art in Bloom event which takes place April 19-21.

In her previous life in the city, Sable — a Winnipegger born and bred — worked in advertising for 15 years before becoming jaded with the industry.

“I decided to flee to Marchand and raise chickens and grow flowers. I became the editor of The Prairie Garden, and I was really passionate about growing food and native plants,” she says.

Candles came into her life through necessity.

“At least once a week you would be out of power because trees would fall on the lines during storms,” she says. “I would always make candles because it was pretty frequent.”

Giving up her rural homestead, Sable moved to La Broquerie where she decided to focus on her venture: Prisma Candles.

“A few years ago I looked into colouring beeswax because I wanted to see a forest of beeswax trees at Christmas. I made those and they were a big hit. There’s not too many people that dye beeswax and I think that’s why they took off,” she says.

Sable’s beeswax is naturally yellow from pollen, which has been injected into it by the bees. And while it would be much simpler to tint paraffin or soy waxes, she would rather stick to her medium.

“The beeswax I use has a very small footprint. I can drive to the farm, take some and make candles with it, I love the simplicity of that. Every other candle requires a lot of refinement and industry to get to that stage,” she says.

Dyeing beeswax is an art in itself. Instead of removing the natural yellow, Sable blends her colours into it.

“Yellow as a base will shift the tone of the dye so you have to be a bit clever,” she shares. “When you are combining the various colours, you can get a huge range. You are blending everything to get variants of different colours.”

Colours are a recurring inspiration. Sable often finds her gaze drawn to specific shades in paintings, vintage cross-stitch or embroidery pieces, which she then tries to match. There’s a specific piece, hanging in her studio, which has inspired her for more than a year now.

“It’s the colours that drive me. The shape has to embody the colour. Once I match the colours the shape takes form,” she says.

Sable finds the transient nature of candles highly appealing. Benign at first glance, each tiny, flickering flame belies its inherent destructive quality.

“I just want to burn them down,” she laughs. “Sometimes I do think I am channelling my anarchist tendencies into these beautiful objects.

“It’s poetic and powerful. So powerful that it can burn your house down if you are not careful. A candle is sculptural and interactive. To be able to light it on fire, to see it transmute… the ability of fire to change form and turn into light, I think that is just fascinating,” she says.

av.kitching@freepress.mb.ca