Batik

[smallhobbit]

Yesterday's Dare to Dabble was a repeat of something we had done in April 2022.  I think I prefer this year's creations though.

We began the same way, with fabric pinned to a wooden board:



Onto which we drew a picture in melted wax.  The main theme was a waterlily, which I knew would be too complicated for me, so I went for a jellyfish:



Then the sections were filled in, using fabric paints:



And the background painted in, otherwise the wax areas would simply blend into a white background:



Then they were dried with hair dryers and finally ironed between sheets of newspaper to melt and absorb the wax



Having done a jellyfish, I repeated the process with a butterfly and flowers

Comments

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Very nice! Love the colours!

[smallhobbit]

Thank you very much!

[badly_knitted]

Very bright and cheery!

[smallhobbit]

Thank you - I go for the brighter colours :)

[debriswoman]

Lovely:-)

[smallhobbit]

Thank you :)

[goss]

Nice! Thanks for sharing the process pics. :)

Though quite beautiful, I always figure batik to be quite a messy process, but this looks very doable for a live demonstration of the technique in a classroom space.

[smallhobbit]

Thank you! For me it's as much about the doing as the end product.

I'm notorious for getting messy but apart from a little paint on my hands it was fine. You have to be careful with clothing because you're using fabric paints and they don't come out (for obvious reasons), and the wax is hot, as is the iron, but by taking sensible precautions it shouldn't be a problem. The people at Nature in Art (which is where I go for Dare to Dabble) run sessions with school age children and do the ironing themselves and supervise the hot wax but the kids all enjoy it.

[goss]

run sessions with school age children and do the ironing themselves and supervise the hot wax but the kids all enjoy it.

Good to know! For next academic year, I think I will try to do a live demo myself first, and depending on how that session goes, I'll extend some part of the activity so that the kids can participate.

Thanks again for the info and for sharing your post. :)

[adafrog]

Oh wow, very cool.

[smallhobbit]

Thank you very much.

[therealsnape]

Lovely colours! Are they large enough to use as table place mats? They'd look great on a summer table.

[smallhobbit]

They would need some backing fabric, but that would work well. Thank you for the suggestion.

[rusty_armour]

Apologies for the late response. I absolutely love your batik creations, especially the jellyfish! The colours from both pieces really jump out at you and are just beautiful.

[smallhobbit]

I never mind late responses - I'm just happy people are reading my posts. And thank you very much - I'm delighted you like them.