Incense: Blush
Incense, my love, because of the challenge, because of the surprises, because of the rawest of raw materials which force exploration and whisper ideas and untangle the knots of confusion. No matter how many times I work with the materials I use to create incense, I am saying, "Ah-ha!" over and over again, out loud or in my head, but mostly out loud because it solidifies the mad scientist persona I've developed around here; emphasis on the 'mad' because it makes them all feel -- ha! -- normal!
I've been working on a sweet little number here with rose and benzoin and creamy sandalwood and the end results are stratospherically BEE-U-TEE-FULL! This is partially, and perhaps mostly, due to the fabulous raw materials I find.
Of course, while I'm whirring the goods in the electric grinder, or grinding by hand, or rolling the wet paste, I'm thinking of other combinations, and I've come up with something else I want to play with. I won't give too many details as it may be a flop, but it will be different and it will be sweet & musky & lovely & wild. I wrote down the bones of this newer new incense in the time between rolling two test cones of the older new incense. That's how the ideas arrive -- during the work, while I'm crushing roots or woods in a mortar, or while I'm focused on preventing cracks or over rolling paste and turning the bum end of the cone into crumbles, while the scent of the wet paste wraps itself around me, beautiful and sweet and so true to its raw ingredients that it makes me yell, "Ah-ha!" . . . again.
The test cones are not even remotely dry except for the tippy end, so in my impatience to see if the scent holds during a burn, I lit one and it burned! And the scent holds, which is thrilling and affirming and just plain wonderful.
I've been working on a sweet little number here with rose and benzoin and creamy sandalwood and the end results are stratospherically BEE-U-TEE-FULL! This is partially, and perhaps mostly, due to the fabulous raw materials I find.
Of course, while I'm whirring the goods in the electric grinder, or grinding by hand, or rolling the wet paste, I'm thinking of other combinations, and I've come up with something else I want to play with. I won't give too many details as it may be a flop, but it will be different and it will be sweet & musky & lovely & wild. I wrote down the bones of this newer new incense in the time between rolling two test cones of the older new incense. That's how the ideas arrive -- during the work, while I'm crushing roots or woods in a mortar, or while I'm focused on preventing cracks or over rolling paste and turning the bum end of the cone into crumbles, while the scent of the wet paste wraps itself around me, beautiful and sweet and so true to its raw ingredients that it makes me yell, "Ah-ha!" . . . again.
The test cones are not even remotely dry except for the tippy end, so in my impatience to see if the scent holds during a burn, I lit one and it burned! And the scent holds, which is thrilling and affirming and just plain wonderful.
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