The Techniques Used In Batik Art by Victor Epand

Batik is a medium that lies somewhere between art and craft, and is believed to be at least two thousand years old. The Batik process is an extremely demanding one.

In general, the final design must be conceived before the picture is begun. The batik artist works intimately with color. If he wishes parts of his design to be light yellow, then all these parts must be waxed at the same time before any subsequent dyeing. One part of the design can not be isolate and complete it before moving on to the others as an artist in oils or watercolor may, then he must create his design in stages, each of which encompasses the whole picture.

The basic process of batik is simple, because it consists of permeating an area of fabric with hot wax so that the wax resists the penetration of dye. If the cloth is white in the beginning, such as bleached cotton, linen, or silk, then wherever the hot wax is applied that area will remain white in the final design. After the first waxing, the fabric is dipped into a dye bath whose color is the lightest tone of those to be used. When the piece has dried, there will be an area of white and an area of cloth that is the color of the first dyeing.

Next, wax is applied to those parts, which are to retain the first color, then the entire fabric is immersed in the second dye bath whose color is darker in tone than the first. This process is repeated until the darkest tone required in the final design has been achieved. When the fabric has dried it is placed between sheets of absorbent paper and a hot iron applied. As the sheets of paper absorb the wax they are replaced by fresh sheets until the wax is removed. At this point the final design is seen clearly for the first time.

The tools and materials used in batik are simple and readily available. Any tool that can efficiently transfer hot wax from a container to the fabric will serve to produce a design on cloth when it is dyed. A lighted candle can be used to distribute drops of melted wax on the fabric. A variety of objects, such as bent wire or the rim of a tin can, can be dipped in melted wax and pressed onto the cloth to make a design. However, the serious artist uses the brush, but the best thing to use is a number twelve water color brush. The brush needs to have a large enough tip to retain a good quantity of wax. A larger brush for waxing out large areas of cloth is very useful as is a small brush, a number six is about as small as one can use-for delicate work.

The selection of waxes is important to the quality of the finished batik. Paraffin and beeswax are the two waxes most commonly used in batik and are usually combined in different proportions. Due to its ready availability, the best fabric is cotton. The weave of the cloth should not be too close, and the fabric should be translucent when held in front of a light. For the best results, the fabric should be stretched on a frame in a taut manner to prevent wrinkles which may cause the wax to run in an unpredictable way.

About the Author

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for Krishna art, religious gifts from India, and Hare Krishna books. Please visit these sites for batik art, religious gifts from India, and Hare Krishna books.