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Exclusive Hand Painted
Sarong |
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The word batik (or batique)
was taken from Javanese word: "amba", and Indonesian word: "tik". "Amba",
meaning "to write" or "to do", and "tik", meaning "dot" or "point". |
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Screen
Printed Sarong |
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There are several steps to
make batik as follows:
Melted wax (Javanese: malam) is applied to cloth before being dipped in dye.
It is common for people to use a mixture of bees wax and paraffin wax. The
bee's wax will hold to the fabric and the paraffin wax will allow cracking,
which is a characteristic of batik. Wherever the wax has seeped through the
fabric, the dye will not penetrate. Sometimes several colors are used, with
a series of dyeing, drying and waxing steps.
Thin wax lines are made with a canting needle, a wooden handled tool with a
tiny metal cup with a tiny spout, out of which the wax seeps. Other methods
of applying the wax onto the fabric include pouring the liquid wax, painting
the wax on with a brush, and applying the hot wax to precarved wooden or
metal wire block and stamping the fabric.
After the last dyeing, the fabric is hung up to dry. Then it is dipped in a
solvent to dissolve the wax, or ironed between paper towels or newspapers to
absorb the wax and reveal the deep rich colors and the fine crinkle lines
that give batik its character. This traditional method of batik making is
called Batik Tulis (Written Batik).
The invention of the copper block or cap developed by the Javanese in the
20th century revolutionized batik production. It became possible to make
high quality designs and intricate patterns much faster than one could
possibly do by hand-painting. This method of using copper block to applied
melted wax pattern is called Batik Cap (Stamped Batik).
Batik has been both an art and a craft for centuries. In Java (especially in
city of Solo), Indonesia, batik is part of an ancient tradition, and some of
the finest batik cloth in the world is still made there.
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. |
