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 Hanukkah,
the eight day Jewish Festival of Lights, begins on the 25th night
of the Jewish month of Kislev, which usually falls in December. The
holiday celebrates the reclaiming of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem
from invading Syrians, over 2000 years ago. It is a holiday celebrating
freedom of religion.
Candles are lit
on each of the eight nights of Hanukkah to celebrate the miracle which
occurred when the Temple was reclaimed. Only enough oil was found
to burn in the holy, eternal flame for one day. It would take a week
before more oil could be processed, but the one day supply burned
miraculously for eight days.
Candles or oil
are burned in menorahs to symbolize this miracle. One Candle is burned
the first night. Another candle is added each successive night until
the last night when all eight candles are burned. The ninth candle
(often found in the center of the menorah and sitting slightly higher
than the other eight), is called the "shamus," or helper candle. It
is used to light the Hanukkah candles each night. People of the Jewish
faith use menorahs made from all kinds of materials: silver, brass,
ceramic, wood, etc. Now you can create your own menorah from polymer
clay. This project is sure to become a family heirloom to be treasured
for years to come.
Materials:
- Sculpey III
in the following colors:
- Blue #063
- Emerald
#323
- Orange
#533
- White
#001
- Yellow
#072
- 9 Hexnuts
with ¼" openings
- Work Surface
(use index cards, baker's parchment, or a smooth ceramic tile for
work and for baking)
- Ruler
- X-Acto or
Excel Craft Knife (adult supervision recommended)
- Birthday candles
Instructions:
- Condition
¼ block of the blue clay by kneading thoroughly for about one minute.
Roll into a ball and gently squeeze sizes until ball becomes an
egg shape. Set aside.
- Condition
¼ block of yellow clay. Cut conditioned clay in half. Roll each
half into a ball and gently squeeze sides until ball becomes an
egg shape. Set aside.
- Repeat above
steps with orange, emerald, and red clays.
- Break four
toothpicks in half. Stick one toothpick piece halfway into the long
side of the large blue oval. Stick another toothpick half into the
sides of each emerald clay ball and attach a yellow ball. Repeat
this step with the orange and red clay balls.
- Pinch off
some emerald clay and roll into thin spaghetti size snakes. With
craft knife, cut small rice size pieces and press onto the orange
clay balls. Repeat this step with the orange clay and press onto
the emerald clay balls.
- Pinch off
some red clay and roll into thin spaghetti size snakes. Cut into
small rice size pieces and roll into balls. Press small balls onto
yellow clay balls. Repeat this step with yellow clay and press onto
red balls.
- Clean hands
thoroughly (clay colors may stay on hands and bleed onto white clay).
Condition entire block of white clay and cut in half. Roll each
half into an 18 inch snake ¼" in diameter. Twist snakes together
to form a rope. Starting from blue clay ball, wrap white clay rope
around menorah. Trim excess clay off with craft knife and set aside.
Press ends together and blend with fingers. Lighly push rope against
clay balls to secure.
- Take a pinch
of the leftover white clay and repeat the spaghetti steps that are
then rolled into small balls. Place small white balls on the blue
clay ball.
- Push a hexnut
into the top center of each clay ball.
- Bake menorah
on index card in a glass baking dish in a 275 degree oven for approximately
one hour. Be certain that you have checked your oven's temperature
for accuracy with a separate thermometer. Let cool completely.
- Gently pull
hexnuts off of cooled clay menorah. Reattach with a small dab of
E-6000 glue and allow to dry overnight to create a permanent bond.
NOTE: Burn candles
with adult supervision only! Keep away from drafts. Any melted wax
may be cleaned off menorah with very hot water.
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