Workshop 6 Menu
Wax Melting Pots
	In my classes and workshops when I am teaching the use of wax in Silk Painting or Batik, many of my students are very successful and are quite taken with the techniques but they are reluctant to do it at home because of having to heat the wax. There are several wax pots on the market and here are three, which are all very useful and vary in price from the hobbyist pocket to the professional. Decide which melting pot will best suit your needs. How much waxing you do? Do you paint very large or small projects? Do you use large Tjantings and big brushes or small kiskas? Do you need to heat wax rarely or frequently? Can you use the pot for other crafts you may have as hobbies for example making candles or soap? Do you use it for teaching or groups or is it for your own personal use?
The Ranger Melting Pot	The Ranger melting pot is new on the market and it is ideal for personal use or those who only need small amounts of wax heated. It is small, easy to use and is thermostatically controlled.The heater is not deep so the wax melts very quickly, however you can still use a small Tjanting for your work. The shallow dish would be useful when you are printing with wax. It has a wide for legged base and is very stable. The heating pans can be interchanged keeping one for wax one for soap, chocolate! coloured waxes etc. This could come in handy when you are using pure beeswax on some parts of your picture and a paraffin and beeswax mix elsewhere. If you were painting fabric lengths or large scarves and sarongs, a larger pot would be more convenient.
The Efco Melting Pot	The Efco melting pot looks like a small deep fat fryer. It is thermostatically controlled and is lightweight and needs a minimum of 250ml of wax. The pot should not be switched on when it is empty. The wax should be heated slowly to prevent overheating. This is the largest of the three pots and can fit a good number of brushes and Tjantings inside. The small ones will drop in if the pot is very full of wax. This pot is sold with a 2 prong plug so an adapter has been included by some suppliers. This pot is reasonably priced and is the only one of the three with a lid.
The Tixor Malam Melting Pot	This is a professional wax pot with a thermostatically controlled variable temperature setting up to 135c. It holds up to 0.3 litres of wax, which is not a huge amount, but there is a bigger pot called a Tixor Magnum which is a deeper, larger pot for bigger projects. This pot is very stable and has little places to rest your brush or tjanting. This pot is the most expensive. However it is very robust and will last a long time. I have had my Tixor Malam for over 20 years and it is still going strong. Rainbow Silks (in the UK) stock all three of these pots. Price details can be found on their website www.rainbowsilks.co.uk or phone +44 (0)1494 862111 Jill Kennedy Email: jillkennedy@btinternet.com Note: Jill Kennedy is author of a number of books on silk and fabric painting.