Okay..... I know...... I haven't written anything for what seems like an age but I've been busy! Goodness knows how I had time to work full time before moving here! Honestly, there's not enough hours in the day......... However, I promise to catch up on all of my blog posts ASAP!
And what have I been filling my days doing? Well, it would be impossible to visit or live in Indonesia and not be exposed to one of the country's most traditional art forms, batik. So, in March, I decided to take a batik class at the adult education centre here on Batam (to say centre is a bit of an overstatement, it was a little room in the corner of the carpark under one of the government buildings here!)
Well? What is batik? The word batik is derived from the indonesian word 'ambatik' which translated means 'a cloth with little dots'. Its basically a form decorating fabric using hot wax to make a pattern. Then you dye the fabric and the dye resists the wax, leaving the pattern behind. Sounds simple huh? Em..........
So first you start with a piece of cotton cloth and you draw your pattern on it in pencil. Luckily, one of the tutors drew a lovely floral pattern for me, otherwise it would have been covered in stick men........ an artist I am not!
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| Me looking very pleased with 'my' artwork! |
Then you heat your wax in a little wok called a 'wajan' over a spirit burner called an 'anglo'. The wax is kept hot the entire time and I swear it is as hot as the sun, especially when you spill it all over your fingers........
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| The wajan and anglo |
Then you get a little pen thing called a 'canting' and fill it with hot wax. The wax should flow down the spout and onto the fabric (providing you hold it at the correct angle otherwise the wax could go anywhere!)
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| The canting |
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| Me practicing my 'technique' with a very patient instructor. |
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| Woohoo! How easy is this? |
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| Hmmmm.... not so easy after all. Those dots are not meant to be there....... |
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| Dammit wax! Stop dripping all over the place! :D |
Drawing my 'masterpiece' took me about 3 hours but eventually it was time to start dyeing the fabric. None of the instructors speak much English, so it was the perfect opportunity to practice my Indonesian when asking for the different colours of dye. Hijau, biru, merah dan kuning. That's Green, blue, red and yellow for those of you who are not fluent like me :P
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| Just like painting by numbers! Only without the numbers....... so really just painting. |
You can see where some of the dye has run in places. This is because there has been a tiny gap in the wax and the dye has escaped! Not to worry though.........
Next step is to get rid of the wax by plunging the material into boiling water. They usually just poke it into the kettle with a wooden stick while the kettle is still plugged in! But knowing how dodgy the electrics are here I made him disconnect it first.
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| Careful!!!! |
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| One final rinse in the extensive outdoor laundry facility |
Et voila! My first attempt at batik. Granted, it's not as impressive as some of the batik fabric you can buy here, but..........
.........with the help of a lovely Indonesian lady tailoress, it's turned into a fully working cushion! Woohoo!
Sampai jumpa lagi!
Lou & Brian xox
