ALL ABOUT BATIK ;

Batik is a cloth that is traditionally made using a manual was resist dyeing technique.

Javanese traditional batik has notable meanings rooted to the Javanese conceptualization of the universe. Traditional colours include indigo, dark brown, and white, which represent the three major Hindu gods. This is related to the fact that natural dyes are most commonly available in indigo and brown. Certain patterns can only be worn by nobility, traditionally, wider stripes or wavy lines of greater width indicated higher rank. Consequently, during Javanese ceremonies, one could determine the royal lineage of a person by the cloth he or she was wearing.

Other regions of Indonesia have their own unique patterns that normally take themes from everyday lives, incorporating patterns such as flowers, nature, animals, folklore or people. The colours of ''pesisir' batik, from the coastal cities of northern Java, is especially vibrant, and it absorbs influence from the Javanese, Arab, Chinese and Dutch cultures. In the colonial times pesisir batik was a favourite of the Peranakan Chinese, Dutch and Eurasians. 

HISTORY ;

Batik's true origin is still a mystery. The word 'batik' has been translated to mean 'to dot'. Some translated it as 'wax writing' or 'drawing with a broken line'.

It is a very old form of art, as evidence of early batik has been found in the Middle East, Egypt, Peru, Japan, East Turkistan, Europe, as well as Central Asia (India and China) as far back as 2000 years ago. Despite its uncertain origins, batik has reached its highest artistic expression in South East Asia, particularly in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Batik was first introduced to Europe in the 17th century when the Dutch, who colonized Java, Indonesia, introduced this art form to that part of the world.

WHAT MAKE BATIK SO UNIQUE ?

Batik is a crafted fabric that needs to undergo the delicate and repeated process of waxing, dyeing and boiling.

Wax is used as a mean of color blocking in the coloring process. Every part of the fabric that remains untouched by a certain color has to be covered with wax. There are also several sub-processes like preparing the cloth, tracing the designs, stretching the cloth on the frame, waxing the area of the cloth that does not need dyeing, preparing the dye, dipping the cloth in dye, boiling the cloth to remove wax and washing the cloth in soap.

The more colors a batik fabric has, the more times it has been through the process of applying wax, dyeing, and drying, then removing the wax. The process has to happen in a precise order that will produce the pattern or figures that are desired. Additionally, the order of which colors to apply also has to be followed.

Batik cloth can be made into garments, paintings, scarves, bags, table-cloths, bedspreads, curtains, and other decorative items.

Traditional batik is synonymous with silk or cotton. The re-introduction of natural dyes and technique has expanded the scope to include unexpected fabrics like chiffon, velvet, georgette, cheesecloth and voile mostly for fashion apparel. As for batik painting, the most commonly used fabrics are cotton and silk.

BATIK PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES  ;

Even tourists also experience technique's of BATIK.

It can generally be divided into 3 types:

a) Canting (tjanting or tulis)

It involves outlining the designs using a canting, a metal pen tool filled with hot wax. Colors are then painted on the cloth and the process of the waxing, dyeing and boiling will be followed till the desired result is obtained. The process can take up to weeks depending on the intricacy of the pattern, which is why hand painted batik is so highly valued.

b) Cap (block printing)

It involves the application of wax directly onto the cloth using soldered tin or copper

strips block impressed with certain designs. The block, or "chop", is placed into hot wax and then hand stamped onto the fabric. When the wax is dry the fabric is dyed. Then the wax is removed and the pattern is visible.

c) Silk screening (screen printing)

Different screens are used according to the colors and patterns desired. The wax is applied onto the cloth using these screens. This printing method is usually used in the mass production of batik for commercial use.

After all the explanation of the BATIK, now I would like to explain MALAYSIAN BATIK. 

Malaysian Batik is BATIK textile art of Malaysia, especially on the east coast of Malaysia. The most popular motifs are leaves and flowers. Malaysian batik depicting humans or animals are rare because Islam norms forbid animal images as decoration. However, the butterfly theme is a common exception. The Malaysian batik is also famous for its geometrical designs, such as spirals. The method of Malaysian batik making is also quite different from those of Indonesian Javanese batik, the pattern is larger and simpler, it seldom or never uses canting to create intricate patterns and rely heavily on brush painting method to apply colours on fabrics. The colours also tend to be lighter and more vibrant than deep coloured Javanese batik.

SOOOO, here is my BATIK that i did during our trip to the BATIK SHOP with my lecturers and fellow classmates! It was one good experience. I always wanted to learn the technique of BATIK and thankfully, i did :) I thought it was going to be complicating, but it was not surprisingly. It was so easy to learn yet FUN!

This is my final piece.

I decided to do a simple flower to represent the flora and fauna of MALAYSIA. Since it was a Malaysian Batik, the word '' FLOWER'' just hit right to my head. 

Hope u like it! Even though '' i was in a rush condition'.