ART and STUFF

A Bit About BATIK

I first learned of Batik when my family was stationed in Bangkok. I was only 12 years old, but since that time I have continued to pick it up over the years. And over the last few I have exhibited and won several Juried art show awards. I hope to have a web site up for just my batiks soon.

Have you ever used crayons and then painted the whole paper in black watercolor? Well, that’s a bit like batik. Only Batik is a whole lot older than your days of crayons on paper. It is an ancient form of art which started in the east, but has now spread to many other parts of the world. Basically, it is a process whereby hot wax is applied to fabric and then dyed. The artist builds up layers of wax and dye to create an image. Then the fun part, you iron out the wax between sheets of newspaper.

Generally you must go from lightest color to darkest color. So, starting with a blank canvas (the fabric) you paint wax on everything you want to remain white. Then you go to your next lightest color, say, peach. Then more wax on everything you want peach. And so forth and so on. Mistakes happen (of course) but I often find these mistakes provide another way of looking at the piece. I certainly find this in writing, as well as visual art.

As a writer I find exercising some of my other creative skills helps me come back to writing with a fresher attitude. I wonder what other things my fellow writers do to stretch their creative limits? Cooking? Gardening? Would love to hear from you!

To learn more about batik click here.