This photo illustrates another lost art form. It is an example from the "bottles glued together and painted with frosted crackle glaze" movement. 
I believe the original idea was to create lovely candle holders to accent the decor of any room, but I don't think anyone would think these tall...results... would be safe with a lighted flame!
I recall my mother and one or two of her friends practicing this 'art' in about 1969 or 1970. Bottles were collected, along with baby food jars for the candle holding tops. Of course, a variety of different shaped bottles were more effective than stacked mayonnaise jars and ketchup bottles, so friends were pressed to finish up that last bit of Worcestershire or soy sauce and donate the bottles to the project.
I think that Mother had someone use a glass cutting tool to cut off the threads that originally secured the lids to create a smoother effect.
I don't recall any of the finished projects in our house, so I think that the project may have been to create centerpieces for an event. I am assuming if there was any fire 'incident', I would remember hearing about it, but I can't be sure.
I don't think that I have ever seen an example of this craft at an estate sale, thrift store or antique mall. Have you?
6 comments:
This brought back a memory - not of this craft, but similar ones that my mom would do when I was small. And honestly, I think some things are better left lost, lol! My mom was also my troop leader in girl scouts, and egads the crafts we had to do. It's a wonder I'm crafty at all, lol! Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
This brings to mind the works of "art" made by dripping candles down the side of wine bottles...or any other kind of bottle that you could stick a candle in. I first saw these at pizza places in Lawrence in 1959 and 1960. Love, WS
Now that you mention it, my mother-in-law still has the 3 she made -- they are tall (holding the large sized pillar candles) and spray-painted gold. Every Christmas she puts them in the same place on the floor of her foyer. My older sister had one of those cutters and she made sets of glasses by cutting off the tops of coke bottles and the like to give as presents. I have lots of fond memories of those weird 60's and 70's crafts.
I've never heard of this before! Like WS, the only bottle "craft" craze I know of is the old multi-colored candle in the chianti bottle one. :)
These are odd and seemingly a lot of work. Maybe it was just their way of recycling!
I am so going to get out my old magazines and see what I can find that I may have made out of chenille pipe cleaners.
(I won't be out done by you! I won't!)
Wow, I can't believe I have never seen these bottle thingys before! Interesting.
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