Batik Reflections
- Christianne Myers
- Apr 26
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 27
There is a long history across many different cultures and textile traditions of using wax to resist dye. I was fortunate to explore the practice during my last week in Indonesia. In addition to exploring the markets and gift shops, I signed up for a hands-on batik workshop, located in a beautiful artists’ collective about a 10 minute drive from where I was staying. Like many businesses there, it’s also a residence, and also a cafe, and a gallery, that’s right next to a hotel where I had lunch. I had signed up for a three hour workshop, but I clearly demonstrated I had the patience to do some complex work, and was assured there was no rush. I was glad I signed up for the 9 AM slot because I was there until 3 p.m!
Wax is used as a resist in other crafts- pottery, egg dying, as well as wood staining. But the craft and artistry of batik originated in Java. I have some experience with a variety of different textile manipulation techniques, including different kinds of resist so already understood the principles behind the chemistry. I was curious what dyes they were using, and it is a dye from Germany that is activated in the sun and then washed in an acid to deactivate the chemical reaction. Then the fabric is completely washed out in water so the acid doesn't degrade the cloth. Once all dying is done, the fabric is washed out in near boiling water to release all the wax and then has one final rinse in cold water. The wax from the boiling water floats to the top so as the day’s water cools off it hardens into a big disk of reusable wax that can be remelted for future use.
In my prior resist experiments, I've demonstrated batik with beeswax that was mixed with paraffin to make it more brittle so that it is then cracked to allow some veins of dye to seep in. While this technique creates a beautiful texture, in some cultures those veins are considered flaws. I have also used a soy based wax in the past which has a lower melting temperature, is safer to use, and washes out more easily, but is also not as strong a barrier as beeswax. So, at my workshop we were using 100% beeswax. The artists there are a multi-generation family of experts creating batik. The work available at the gallery were single panels, landscapes, and other framable artwork, not yardage of fabric. (I bought a small piece, above, that really reminded me of my residency house). The prices were based on the level of complexity of the hand drawn wax, not the size of the canvas. Watching the professionals work, I truly came to understand that while the process can take a very long time, the repetition of the patterns does become a meditative process (much like the repeated small patterns in hand painted Wayang Kulit). One of my big takeaways about my trip was observing the benefits of having a different relationship with time.
On the day I was there, I was the only participant at the workshop, though they can accommodate tourist groups, school groups, and family outings. A lovely man was my guide the whole day, though others were there to help, and offer suggestions and encouragement. It was a great change of pace, and so relaxing to not be rushed. I mostly used the traditional tool, tjanting, which comes in two sizes for canting. The tip is brass and stays hot so the wax in the reservoir stays liquid as you refill it from a pot of molten wax. I also used some brushes for larger areas. I'm fine with the results- not brilliant, but it was really just about the experience and owning all my drips. I said, “if you can’t hide it, feature it” which my host found delightful… there was certainly a lot to “feature!”
The Friday before, Ria, the artistic director of Papermoon, took me to the Beringharjo Traditional Market to find some batik fabric. The market is HUGE. It's two or three stories, and a couple of buildings, basically more than the size of a city block. The whole market is organized by department. As we walked through, there's the section where they're selling dried fish. So much dried fish. Very strong smell. Then a whole section that is just tea and spices, which smelled amazing. Throughout, you would see people selling produce. The main entrance is the touristy entrance (we came in from the back), with crappy fake batik clothing, all surface printed. On the second floor, I found more staples- underwear, T shirts and bras, clearly where locals shop. It is a traditional market, and while the front part of it is geared towards tourists, it's clear the heart of the market is very much a local establishment. This is where food stall merchants come to buy snacks and supplies in bulk. I saw a vendor that just sells plastic containers: different sizes of plastic bags, garbage bags, and plastic bins.
I wished I had more time to just slow my pace down and really enjoy the market. We went to a batik stall, where Ria knew the owner and I bought two pieces, above. The wax was stamped (batik cap, example above left), not hand drawn, though I had an eye for the expensive stuff and found this gorgeous piece of hand drawn batik, which was over 1 million rupia (@$65). Absolutely worth it, but I wasn’t sure what I was going to find at my workshop the following week. The Saturday before I left Jogja, I went back to the market because I decided I'm going to make a quilt top of batik fabrics as a memento of this trip. Unfortunately the stall I went to before was closed, so we ended up at a different stall where I found a beautiful used piece of hand drawn batik that is dry rotted in a few spots, so it was a good price and perfect for piecing together for a quilt. I also accidentally bought two pieces that I think are just printed “fake” batik. The lighting wasn’t great and I was rushing, but they were still super cheap, (two meters cost about four dollars) and they will be fine as PJs. Once you know what you're looking for, the richness of the color and the way the colors work together is just so beautiful in the real stuff.
Near the market is a giant, three story gift shop, definitely for tourists but everything there is made in Indonesia (including a lot of cheap crap.) You can buy little souvenir fake shadow puppets, bags, carved wood in almost any shape, but I avoided those things and bought some finished batik clothing for gifts instead as well as a beautiful skirt for myself.
Now that I’m home, I’ve designed the quilt top. I started off thinking it would be very complicated, and explored some traditional American quilting patterns using the batik cloth. But in the end I decided to simply use thick stripes to really feature the different scales of the patterns I bought, and add a few pieces of solid cotton to pull out the colors in the hand drawn piece. Time to start sewing!
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