Photo courtesy of (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

Textile ArtBatik

• To understand the process of wax resist technique, batik.• To add decoration and layers to a batik sample. • To incorporate different techniques into the batik samples.

• To create a range of batik samples that clearly link to your natural form focus area.

Learning Objective

Success Criteria

What Do You Know?Think about the following questions: • Where does it originate? • What do you need to complete the technique? • What is the basic principle behind the technique? • What might people struggle with when working on a batik piece?

How can you overcome any problems when creating a batik

sample or final piece?

What Is Batik?Batik is a technique where wax is used as a resist to a dye or paint. The wax acts as the line and makes a pattern on the fabric. Traditionally, wax is spread across the cloth using a canting and hot wax.

Historically, batik started as an art form used to decorate clothing and wall hangings in Asia. Today, it is used all over the world for many different art forms.

Photo courtesy of Jolle~(commonswiki assumed) via WikimediaCommons

Photo courtesy of Peter van der Sluijs (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

Quick Batik Design IdeasIn your sketch book complete a range of batik design ideas, including ‘one colour’ ideas and ‘two colour’ ideas that link to your natural form aspect.

Remember: the lines in batik are the areas that stay as the background colour.

Creating Batik SamplesUse the how-to guide to help you!

1. Place a well-ironed piece of fabric onto 3-4 layers of

newspaper.

2. Use the canting or an old paint brush to decorate your fabric: wherever you

place the wax will stay the colour of the fabric.

3. Once the wax is dry, paint ink onto the fabric to cover

it and let it dry.

5. Iron the wax off the fabric with a hot iron. Change the paper when the wax shows

through.

6. Repeat steps 2 – 5 with darker inks to add different colours and layers.

4. Place the fabric between two pieces

of newspaper.

Tip: hold some paper under the canting to avoid drips falling onto the fabric.