IDENTIFYING BATIK ART IDEAS FROM NATURE

Nature provides us with endless possibilities. In this article I'll use my own natural surroundings as an example. I encourage my students to find what interests them depending on where they are around the world. To be able to fully appreciate what nature has to offer, take photos of everything that interests you and try to study them on a computer. I always take my photos 2 times a day, that is after sunrise and an hour or so to sunset. This helps me to study the shadows cast because the sunlight is hitting the subject from one side. Please observe the following photographs carefully;

The above picture shows a common food crop around the village, the cassava. Looking at this plant, one can be able to notice what looks like tiny arms stretching off the stem and opening up at the end into giant fingers. There are reddish tiny lines with what looks like open palms everywhere crisscrossing, intersecting, shielding and leaning against each other. The sunlight is coming from the right side and as a result, shadows are cast from top leaves down creating a good image for a batik artist. It's the same with the next pictures as well.

In batik art, we begin from the lightest colors on to darker colors. By looking at the above examples, you are able to identify and differentiate lightly colored areas from darker areas. Therefore, after drawing your sketch on the fabric, start by blocking off these lighter areas with wax before applying the next darker color.

WHAT YOU NEED TO START A BATIK PROJECT

Some of the tools and materials used in batik art

Batik is an old art dating back to thousands of years from East Asia. I involves the use of dyes on a fabric and hot wax to cover areas that should be retained. In order to do a batik art project successfully, you need to have a plan. This will involve 2 key areas namely; the picture that will be drawn on the fabric and what you'll use to do that picture in the batik medium.

In this post I'll look at the materials that you'll need to kickstart your project.

Fabrics - cotton or silk

Brushes - these will be divided into 2. The first lot will be used to apply hot wax on the fabric and the second lot will be used to apply dyes. Hard bristle brushes are suitable for both tasks.

Wax- This comes in 2 types namely; paraffin and bees wax. I always use paraffin wax in my projects.

Dyes - These have to be fibre reactive dyes. I mostly use Procion MX dyes for my projects

Tissue paper - To wipe away any excess dye from the batik painting.

A pencil for drawing

A newspaper to absorb some of the excess wax and dyes

A heat source - This will help us to heat the wax. Use a source whose heat can be controlled in case of overheating of the wax.

A table that will serve as a work station. You'll place tha fabric and heat the wax on this table.

A laundry line on which to hang a wet batik painting.

As you go along this journey you'll notice that you require a few more necessities but the ones listed above are the most important.

In my next post, I 'll look at how to choose the best subject matter for your project.

Email your questions to

lukandwad@yahoo.co.uk