20 hives full of bees and my granddad's 78-year-old hands
both his dad and his granddad were beekepers, 5 generations of this 
companionship.

I watch him prepare bees for winter, slow acts of maintenance.
we take out some of the old frames with a build up of the waxy honeycomb 
structures. we let the sun melt them down, slowly dripping onto metal 
containers. 

the colour of the wax varies- from the white shades of fresh honeycomb
cappings to dark browns of the brood comb. the longer the wax has been
in the hive, the darker it is.
I melt the wax again to strain it through a linen cloth, take away small particles 
of dirt and wood and resin and pieces of cocoons and fallen bees

I repeatedly dip strands of the wick, one after the other, layer after layer 
shaping the candle.