What is Batik?

Batik is both an art and a craft, which is becoming more popular and well known in the West as a medium is very creative and exotic. The art of decorating cloth in this way, using wax and dye, has been practiced for centuries to the next. In Java, Indonesia, batik is part of an ancient tradition, and some of the finest batik cloth in the world is still made ​​there. The word batik derived from the Javanese tik and means the point.

To make a batik, selected areas of the best cotton fabric by brushing or drawing hot wax over them, and the fabric is then dyed. The parts covered in wax resist the dye and remain the original color. The process of waxing and dyeing can be repeated to create more elaborate designs and colorful. Once the wax is removed and the final dyeing fabric or ready-made shows.

Choose fabrics that want to fit like silk, gauze, or cotton work best. And a wash cloth to remove residue. Dry and iron the fabric.

Contemporary batik, while owing much to the past, is markedly different from the more traditional and formal styles. For example, the artist may use etching, discharge dyeing, stencils, different tools for waxing and dyeing, wax recipes with different resist values and work with silk, cotton, wool, leather, paper or even wood and ceramics.

Batik is historically the most expressive and subtle of the resist methods. The ever widening range of techniques available offers the artist the opportunity to explore a unique process in a flexible and exciting way.