Working in batik is all about process, and while I jokingly refer to it as the most convoluted way on the planet to make a picture, I'm very grateful for everything this time consuming process has taught me.  I think its because there is no "fast" way to do this, that I have learned not only great art lessons, but important life lessons as well.  In up coming posts I will be showing the various steps that an individual piece moves through to become a finished batik.  The image below is a collage of all the steps of making a batik.  Read more to get more detail about the steps of this creative process.

The photos below document the piece starting at step three.  The very first step was thinking about the image or at least having a vague idea of something that I wanted to draw. Step two was doing the the drawing in pencil and arranging the composition and design.  It was only after those steps were finished that I could move to step three which is to draw over my pencil drawing with a fine marker so that I can see the design when I place it under the fabric I am going to wax. The drawing shows me where I want things to go.  The marker drawing is called a cartoon and does not have any brush stroke detail, only the outline of the large shapes.  After the drawing is done, I then cut the fabric to fit it, wash and iron out the wrinkles.  I  place the drawing on my light table, cover it with a sheet of mylar and place the fabric over that.  Once the wax has been heated to the correct penetrating temperature, I  dip my brush into the wax and begin to paint on the wax.  The wax has a life of its own, as does the brush.  Its after years of practice that I can predict how both will perform.  The second photo that you see is the cloth with a light behind it so you can see where the wax has been applied. Those areas glow, or appear the lightest.  Every area that has  wax will now remain white as the piece proceeds through the many dye baths ahead.  I have barely begun, and yet there has already been many steps to the process. 

I typically work on many pieces at the same time as I can't wax a piece while it is drying in the dye room. I juggle many designs, all of which will be at different stages as I work on them.  My brain is truly stretched at this point as I try to keep track of who is on first, and who is on second.  The process is slow, it demands attention, thoughtfulness and patience.  I have had many pieces fail along the way over the years, these failures have taught me that I must not be in this for the results or the product because if I were, I would have given up a long time ago.   So much effort goes into these with no promise of a return.  What I've realized over the years, is that it is the process of making them, doing the work that engages me.  Its like cooking Thanksgiving dinner, the day or days leading up to the meal  are where all the meaningful time is spent, working with family to decide who is doing what, collecting the ingredients making the food, the process IS the event.  After all the work, the actual dinner is consumed and over with so fast that you hardly know it happened.  Embracing the activities before the turkey comes to the table is where the good stuff really is.  I think making artwork is the same, if you can't find the joy in the process, the product only gives fleeting satisfaction.  I think most of life is like that as well.  I've remodeled a lot of our small cottage and I really enjoy the finished work, but its remembering my hands in the grout and the stain and the drywall dust that gives each finished room its meaning to me.  Life isn't about just getting somewhere, the real art of living is figuring out how to enjoy the trip, whether you get to your destination or not.

 

 

Photo below is of my hand applying wax to the cloth.  To keep the areas that I want to remain white, a clean crisp white, I must wax those areas three times. There is the initial first coat, then I go over and apply a second coat on the front side then turn it over and apply a third coat on the back side. Lots of time involved to do the same job three times!  I used to fight this, looked for all sorts of ways to not have to do it, but nothing worked. It was a frustrating search.  What needed to change was my attitude. To embrace this task, not resent it.  I'm not sure when the change happened, but over the years it's become one of my favorite, more meditative aspects of my work. I no longer resent it, but I actually look forward to this part. I love the way the wax flows off the brush, I love watching my hand and brush work in concert with each other, it's become  relaxing and soothing. I disappear into the process and breathe.  Interesting how when we  stop fighting something, it can bring us things we are ultimately grateful for.

The photo below shows the first dye bath on the piece I showed in an earlier post that had only the wax applied to it.  It was dyed blue yesterday and today I have been applying wax to the areas that I want to remain blue.  I will post a photo of the waxed version tomorrow when I finish waxing those blue areas.  I enjoy this part of the process, as more and more of the design begins to appear.  The process of batik sucks you in, the images grow from light to dark and I find I always want to keep going to get to the next color so more of the image will magically appear.  Then reality sets in, and I have to remember to be patient, this isn't going to be done in a day or even a week. Its about process, enjoying the steps, the wax flows off the brush in a soothing manner whether it is the first waxing or the last. I need to remember to savor the moment I'm in, its the only one I really have.

The photo below shows the batik that I have been posting photos of as it moves through the batik process.  This shot shows it after it was dyed blue. I then used a technique called dry brush application of wax, meaning I was careful to not let the wax penetrate the cloth completely in all the areas that I applied the wax.  There are small gaps and lighter areas of coverage.  This was done on purpose, as the next step will be to remove some color, in essence etching the wax, and will allow me to create a layered effect of color several steps from now.  Todays photo shows the dry brush application of wax on the cloth, and its beginning to show the definition of the leaves that will appear later. The next posting will show the piece with the color removed, but areas of blue remaining. I should add, knowing what I know about this process, if luck is with me!

I've included two views today of the batik I am working on, one is of the entire piece and the other a close up of the top section.  After dying it blue and then dry brush waxing the areas I want to keep blue, I then dipped it quickly into a bleach and water mixture to remove the blue so I could  get back to as close to white cloth as possible.  By doing this I can head down a different color path.  Since the colors are being built from each other in a batik,  once headed down a color path, you must stay on that path.  For instance, dipping something in yellow and then red would create orange and from there it would be easy to get to brown and end in black.  In this case, I am attempting to change the color path and can do so as long as its early in the process.  With certain early dye colors I can get back to white, but with others its very difficult.  Now that I have it back to white, I will dip it in a light beige color and I will post those result next. Again everything will turn the beige color and those small white areas in the sky will pick up that color and create a more interesting look to the sky, it will have a blended layered look to it.

As I worked today, I thought about the deadline and while I am showing only one of the pieces I am working on, I am working on many others as well.  My foot, along with not being twenty anymore, is slowing me down, so I honestly don't know what will get done and what won't.  I'll work hard to get done everything that I can, but what is nice about being older is the perspective one can bring to the table.  Do the best I can, but don't loose sight of smelling the roses along the way.  If I don't enjoy the process, its work.  If I enjoy it, its play.  I'm still young enough to know that play is more fun that work.

After having taken the cloth back to white,the photo entry below shows the cloth, both close up, and the full piece, after I dyed it the beige that I spoke about yesterday.  The dye has gone into all the areas that had been dry brushed with wax earlier and etched out by the bleach and water solution so there are now two color in the sky, the light blue that the piece was dyed first, and now the light beige.  Everything else is now that light beige as well, and the next step will be to apply wax to all the areas that I want to hold that color.  The next step will be applying wax to those areas.

Look at the photo after this paragraph to see the piece with wax applied to the areas that I wanted to hold light beige and again because this was a light color, I waxed it again on the front and back side to keep the color crisp as it moves through the dye baths ahead.  I will be dipping it into a darker  beige color to create the top half of the herons beak and to finish building up color in the sky next. 

A close up of the areas that I have waxed to hold both the light and the darker beige color including waxing over both sides of the sky to hold the blue, and the etched beige color. You can also see that  the tips of the grasses have been waxed to hold that color there as well.  As I am photographing each of these steps and describing it, I have to admit its no wonder there are not a great many batik artists.  Whew, there are many steps, and none of this happens quickly.  As I think about this, is it amazes me that I have worked in this medium for so many years!  The only explanation I can give is that there is still a childlike magical moment when you place the piece in the dye and see how the piece changes that still grabs me, along with the relaxing flow of wax off a brush tip.  As complicated as it is to get through all the steps to produce a piece, that moment of watching the color take over and the feeling of the wax flowing, has pulled me back to it for years, and helped to create countless pieces. 

These next shots show the piece after I have removed color yet again.  The two colors of beige have been held by the application of wax.  Since I need to go down a different color path, and because the colors were still light in value, I could remove the beige in the unwaxed areas. This will allow me to begin a clear crisp color field of shades of blue as I work on building both the body of the great blue heron and the water that he is standing in.  I realized that I have not given the size of the piece and want to mention that the fabric for this piece is about 36 inches wide and about 60 inches long.  By the time I am done with it, it will be totally covered in wax.  I'm glad to have gotten to this stage, while there is still much to do, at this point in the waxing and dying, it feels like its starting to come together, like I am turning a corner, and the piece will now begin to take shape.

I have dyed it a deeper blue than the light blue when I first began the piece. From now on, more and more of the image and its nuances will begin to appear.  I have applied the wax as carefully as I can, but so many aspects are out of my control that this is where the process takes on a life of its own.  Was I able to capture the contour of the heron and its feathers at this point or that point? All those things will slowly begin to reveal themselves now.  The wax is fickle and it may not have penetrated the fabric fully to hold that detail I was hoping for, or a surge of wax may have slipped down the tip of the brush and I got a wider line than I had hoped.  Each dye bath now will reveal more and more of the unique properties of this medium.  I've come to know that somethings I can control, and others will be a mystery.  I won't know which is which until the piece is finished. Its nice now to finally begin to see it taking shape.  I'm hopeful that I will have captured a life in this heron and the moving grasses surrounding it. 

This next photo shows the piece dyed a darker blue and today I will add the wax to those areas that I want to hold that color. 

The photo below shows the area that I want to keep the dark blue and I have applied wax to those areas.  As you can see the grasses are now taking shape and the heron stands in them.  The next dye bath will begin to add depth to the piece and now I just have to hope that the wax will hold the next round of colors.  

Today's shot shows the piece after I waxed the areas I wanted to hold blue and dipped in a dye bath of yellow.  Since blue and yellow make green, I now have the first of several shades of green that will appear in the leaves surrounding the heron.  This is when the piece finally begins to look like something. 

I managed to forget to take a shot of the piece with the first areas of green waxed, so the next shot you'll see shows the light areas of green with wax on them. The piece has just been dyed the next darker color of green.   In all, there will be three shades of green in the leaves when I am done with them. The refections at the top of the piece are a result of the three coats of wax that are in that area and light is now bouncing off all of that wax.  The piece is heavy with wax now and dipping it in the dye becomes a challenges as I need to be careful not to overly crack the wax coating as I try to place it in the bath tubs that I use for dyeing. The tubs are never large enough. At this stage I do begin to feel like I can see the whole composition.

Underneath this explantaion is the next step of the piece.  It dyed the second color of green which you can see contrasts with the lighter green from the other day.  I have four more days to  get all the work done before they have to go to the dry cleaners.  Its going to be tight.  There are many things I have been learning that I will write about after I meet the deadline.  At this point, all energy needs to go into the work.

Sorry for the poor lighting, most shots have been with light behind the piece but I shot this one in the dye room while it was drying.  Below you can also see that the heron is facing a different direction.  Batik effects the entire cloth so both sides will have the image on it. The piece has also been dyed the final shade of green.  I will apply wax to the remaining leaves and from here I will take the piece into several shades of brown before the final dye bath.

Here is the heron after I have dyed it the first shade of brown that will appear in the final picture.  I have at least one if not two more shades of brown to go and then the final dark dye bath. The big question as I work from this point on is whether or not all the wax will hold, or, will it have eroded in the numerous dye baths and cause me to loose all the detail?  Only time will tell, as the artist all I can do at this point is finish the piece and hope!

Here are some close up shots of the brush strokes in the heron piece that I have been working on.  Each shape, each mark, each color change represents an individual brush stroke.  I'm looking at these and its no wonder my arm hurts!