Menorahs

[Rebecca M.]

lol! I thought maybe it would be disrespectful to have one as a decoration--just to use as a candle holder you know? Like using a baptismal font to store your beer in or something...
Amy

I was thinking the same thing. So many rules in some religions, who am I to break them? I think they would look fabulous on a piano instead of a boring brass candelabra thing. Not that we have one. We have a Pillsbury Doughboy collection on the piano. These are so fun and festive and different. I could see them for everyday, but didn't know if it would be breaking a rule.

The bubble one is great. I've done some experimenting with different regular glass to get bubbles. Spectrum quarter reed gives uniform bubbles much like the ones in the Menorah. The heavy ripples gives bigger bubbles in sort of a wavey pattern depending on how the top sheet gets positioned. And the Wissmach Aerolites will give tiny little bubbles, and the colors are nice. I wish I could mix them, but who knows if they're compatible. Haven't done any testing.

Those are beautiful Jackie.

[Jackie Beckman]

lol! I thought maybe it would be disrespectful to have one as a decoration--just to use as a candle holder you know? Like using a baptismal font to store your beer in or something...
Amy

Well, you probably shouldn't use one to hold candy canes or anything like that.

Tony

Ha Ha Ha !! Too funny Tony!

[Amy on Salt Spring]

lol! I thought maybe it would be disrespectful to have one as a decoration--just to use as a candle holder you know? Like using a baptismal font to store your beer in or something...
Amy

Well, you probably shouldn't use one to hold candy canes or anything like that.

Tony

Darn and that was just what I was thinking I might do! My father and sister are both ministers in the Presbyterian church so I was raised with the whole religious kit and caboodle. I no longer practice anything organized even though I have strong beliefs in a higher power but I do try and be extremely respectful of anyone's faith or its symbols. So if I ever get a Menorah I promise not to stick Santa candles in it.
-A

[Dani]

There is a balance point between the the object as a symbol for something and it's actual physical manifestation. I think it's okay to have a menorah for beauty's sake without religious attachment as long as how you use it isn't offensive to someone with a stronger attachment. Many people would disagree with that. But after years in the liturgical trade working with many religions, I truly believe that God doesn't give a rat about all the stuff we create... it's important to *us* to invoke the feeling or connection with a higher power. And a menorah, though I am not Jewish, could just as well create that connection. Or Tibetan prayer wheels. Or a rosary. Or not. They could just be objects we find to be beautiful.

[ellen abbott]

Very cool Jackie.

E

[MarlaS]

jackie, they're beautiful (but i tend to love all of your stuff -- the bright colors, shapes....). of course, my impatience w/ stupid shutterfly, could only see the 1st one bigger than an inch....!

my burning (pun intended, of course) question: what are you using for the drip cups?! doesn't look like the washers the preschool crowd's using...!
marla

[Jackie Beckman]

jackie, they're beautiful (but i tend to love all of your stuff -- the bright colors, shapes....). of course, my impatience w/ stupid shutterfly, could only see the 1st one bigger than an inch....!

my burning (pun intended, of course) question: what are you using for the drip cups?! doesn't look like the washers the preschool crowd's using...!
marla

Hmm . . .I've never heard that about Shutterfly before Marla. Sorry you couldn't see them bigger. Anyone else have that problem?

As for the candle cups, mine are aluminum stock that we cut, drilled on a lathe and sandblasted. By next year's batch I'll have some different ones, but I had to come up with something quickly. I don't mind these, actually, but I'd like to have some different ones too.

Jackie

[MarlaS]

every time i'd try to click on another image, or view the slide show, i'd get prompts to join instead, so i guess it wouldn't be a problem if i were already registered there....
(& thx for the info...there's got to be an easier way....!)

[Bonita (Nita) Crawford]

Jackie, I loved your new work, too. But, thinking back, I've never seen
any of your work I didn't like.

BTW, I had the same trouble viewing your pictures. After seeing one
up close, I want to see them all. Greedy girl.

Nita

[Jackie Beckman]

Jackie, I loved your new work, too. But, thinking back, I've never seen
any of your work I didn't like.

BTW, I had the same trouble viewing your pictures. After seeing one
up close, I want to see them all. Greedy girl.

Nita

Thanks Nita. I sure wish I had a solution for those who had trouble viewing the pictures, but I really can't figure it out. When I click on the link I'm brought to a screen with the first picture. There is a little orange button that reads, "view pictures" and when I click on it the slideshow begins. Apparently for you and Marla that doesn't happen? Hmmm . . . I can't begin to know why, but I'm sorry about that.

Jackie

[MarlaS]

oh i don't know, jackie. it's probably the same bad karma that's inducing my 4 year old she-devil to sing jingle bells over & over & over & over & over, and REFUSE to sing any dreidel songs, because she knows how much the endless christmas carols grate on what's left of my frayed nerves....
happy new year....marla

[Bonita (Nita) Crawford]

Marla,

My daughter lived for 10 years in a predominately Jewish neighborhood.They made lifelong friends there and majored on
their similarities instead of their differences. Although my daughter
now lives in Atlanta, they still visit frequently and talk even more often.

At one of their gourmet dinners their group gave monthly, I was sitting with some of the Jewish mothers when one recounted the story of her
very Kosher mother-in-law visiting and overhearing her precious little
3 year old singing in the back of the house, at the top of her lungs,
"Jesus loves me this I know." Turned out the very best day care center
in the area was provided by a Baptist church, and the child learned the
song there. The Grandmother is probably still in a state of shock. She
was certainly horrified at the time.

Our nine year old granddaughter wondered why she couldn't have a
bas mitzvah like her friend was planning.When our daughter moved away
several of the men quietly told her that her Christian faith which radiates
within in her, although she rarely spoke of it, had caused them to grow in
their own Jewish faith. My granddaughter and her parents flew back to
Ohio to attend the other child's bas mitzvah.

My daughter's next door neighbors, and best friends for many years now,
joined a temple and became very active in it. "We were jealous of what
your faith gives to you and wanted some of that for ourselves." Moving
into a "different"neighborhood turned out to be a blessing for everyone
involved.

Peace

Nita

BTW, Jingle Bells does have a happy tune. LOL

[MarlaS]

couldn't agree more, nita. that's why we so enjoy having our neighbors over to spend the first night of hanukah with us, & our friends save the last few ornaments for my daughter to hang.....
...my "msg" was more about my daughter's finely tuned & twisted sense of humor at the tender age of 4 than anything else, tho growing up jewish in the southeast (let alone going to school w/ jesse helms' kin) has left me prone to prickliness at certain times of year......
happy new year!

[Ron Coleman]

I would be interested in hearing more about "how to" fuse the pieces together . I have also made quite a few this season and not finding a glue that is really strong enough to take the abuse when cleaning off the wax from the candles. Both GE and uv come apart. Would appreciate any help. Happy Hannukah!

Someplace in the archives Ron goes over this in detail - even had pictures if I remember right. Perhaps he'll find the link for us. But - essentially what he's done is glue the pieces together using elmers, placed the piece in a refractory box he's built, covered the entire piece in sand to hold it together and then fuse. Naturally it obtains quite an interesting surface texture, but I'd like that as a design element.

As far as getting the wax off after Hanukkah, this is what I suggest. Place the menorah under running luke-warm water and gradually increase the temp until the water is hot enough to melt away the wax.

What have you tried to do that has caused the bond to fail? (I'll make sure I never do it )

Jackie

First off I love the menorahs Jackie and the ones Doctac has shown. Very creative work and well executed too.

I've been following the menorah posts with interest and the fused assembly sounds interesting, but there is one thing that needs to be considered when doing it. That is "thermal expansion" or more correctly "differrential" thermal expansion. This can occure during cleaning if someone puts the menorah in hot water and only part of the piece is in the water and the rest is just room temperature. This could cause a joint failure at the fuse point. Even though the fused joint is strong, it probably isn't anywhere near as strong as a solid piece of glass.

I solved the differential expansion problem on the boxes is a unique way, I line them with velvet and use ebony handles. Hopefully no one will be tempted to toss them in the sink or the dishwasher for a quick cleaning.

There is some quality about glass that begs to be clean and most people will give it the soap and water treatment to keep it looking its best.

This is the part that scares me about all my work, not just the boxes. I do a little testing now and then, but have never put a fused box in the diswasher just to see what will happen.

The secret is to experiment.

Ron

[Jackie Beckman]

First off I love the menorahs Jackie and the ones Doctac has shown. Very creative work and well executed too.

I've been following the menorah posts with interest and the fused assembly sounds interesting, but there is one thing that needs to be considered when doing it. That is "thermal expansion" or more correctly "differrential" thermal expansion. This can occure during cleaning if someone puts the menorah in hot water and only part of the piece is in the water and the rest is just room temperature. This could cause a joint failure at the fuse point. Even though the fused joint is strong, it probably isn't anywhere near as strong as a solid piece of glass.

I solved the differential expansion problem on the boxes is a unique way, I line them with velvet and use ebony handles. Hopefully no one will be tempted to toss them in the sink or the dishwasher for a quick cleaning.

There is some quality about glass that begs to be clean and most people will give it the soap and water treatment to keep it looking its best.

This is the part that scares me about all my work, not just the boxes. I do a little testing now and then, but have never put a fused box in the diswasher just to see what will happen.

The secret is to experiment.

Ron

Ron, when you anneal one of your assembled boxes, I assume you anneal for the thickness of the two pieces you've fused together? For example, if your walls and box bottom are made of 3/8" pieces then you anneal using a schedule for 3/4" glass? Or just to be safe do you add time because of the unique configuration?

I wonder if the "differrential" thermal expansion problem would still cause the essembly to come apart if the fuse firing in sand was brought to a higher temp making a stronger bond?

Jackie