“What is batik?” Some students had signed up for batik but they did not even know what batik was. However, by the end of the activity led by Ibu Fanny, the students had learnt to appreciate the batik and even made their own batiks.
Batik is Indonesia’s most highly developed art form. It is the Indonesian art of cloth-printing and it uses the traditional manual wax-resistant dyeing technique.
During the activity, the students learnt that natural materials such as cotton are usually used for the cloth as these materials are better in absorbing the wax that is used in the dye process and that the fabrics must have high thread count so as to maintain the intricate designs of batik.
The first process was designing. Students selected the designs for their batik based on templates and picture given by Ibu Fanny while others came up with their own designs. Next, they outlined the pattern onto the cloth. This is traditionally done with charcoal or graphite.
The second process was waxing. Wax is applied to the cloth over the areas of the design that is meant to remain the original colour of the cloth.
The third process was painting the designs on the cloth.
The first process was designing. Students selected the designs for their batik based on templates and picture given by Ibu Fanny while others came up with their own designs. Next, they outlined the pattern onto the cloth. This is traditionally done with charcoal or graphite.
The second process was waxing. Wax is applied to the cloth over the areas of the design that is meant to remain the original colour of the cloth.
The third process was painting the designs on the cloth.
Design (1)
Design (2)
Design (3)
The final process was to iron the pieces of cloth until the cloth are completely ‘clean’ which is to remove the moisture and wax completely.
 Ibu Fanny demonstrating |
Happy students with their beautiful batik
At the end of the activity, the students framed up their batik and prepared to display it on project day. So do look out for them on project day! While you are admiring them, remember that a lot of effort is put into that piece of art :)