Who is Hooey? | What is Batik? | Hooey in Action!
| What is Batik? |
| Batik is a traditional Asian art with origins in India, Indonesia & China. The word is Malay and means “wax writing.” The batik process involves painting with melted wax using a tjanting, a special tool similar to a fountain pen, onto cloth, then dyeing the material. The covered areas resist the dye except where the hardened wax has cracked, producing the crackled, spider web effect which is characteristic of batik. The waxing and dyeing can be repeated as many times as necessary to achieve multiple colors and more varied designs. Or the wax can be completely removed and reapplied in different areas to get an even broader spectrum of colors.The final process is removing the wax from the material. This can be done by ironing the fabric between newspaper or repeatedly rinsing it in boiling water — over and over and over… The end result is a colorful and unique creation.
All Hooey Batiks designs are original. Because no dye bath is the same the colors and color combinations are different every time. And because I wax items individually, by hand, the designs vary, making each batik a one of a kind piece of wearable art. |
| Fishy Example |
| 1. Dye material blue. Wax areas to stay blue.2. Put waxed material in yellow dye, turning the fabric chartreuse with a waxed blue background. Wax the areas to stay chartreuse.
3. Dye the material dark blue, turning the unwaxed areas dark green. 4. Remove wax to reveal completed design. |