The Painstakingly Gorgeous Art of Batik Making

We knew we were going to do some batik making today, but we didn't know what intensity it was going to be. We both underestimated a bit (or should I say a lot).

We got picked up at 10am by a guy who drove us to the batik place. The man dropped us off and another man greeted us and took us to the work area, where several others were in the process of making batiks. The guy (we never got his name) explained and showed us the different stages of batik making.

1. Draw the picture you want on a paper

2. Trace the drawing in pencil onto fabric

3. Trace over the lines with hot wax

4. Use batik paints to color in your picture

5. Let dry

6. Dump in a fixer (a mix of different chemicals) to make the colors stick

7. Dump in hot water to get the wax off

8. Let dry

Samples showing the process

So, we started our process of making our own batik. There were several pre-drawn pictures that we could choose from or we could make our own. Of course, we decided to use the pre-drawn ones, since neither of us are good at drawing in the least bit. Montana chose a picture of a bird on a tree and LuRue chose a picture of some fish.

A worker had already set up some fabric for us to trace onto along with pencils and erasers. Both of us started off trying to get every little detail right, but then we eventually came to the conclusion that it didn't matter as much, since we'd be using wax over the painting. This process took quite a while since the pictures themselves were pretty detailed. LuRue got done before Montana, since Montana managed to choose probably the most complicated design there was, without thinking of all the time it would take. Eventually, Montana finished too.

Our next step was waxing. We were afraid that we were going to ruin our whole drawing, because neither of us knew how to trace lines with wax, but luckily we got a practice round. Someone had come over and sketched a very quick sketch of what our drawings basically were, while we were tracing. We didn't know it at the time, but those were our practice rounds for waxing. A worker taught us how to wax, but of course beautiful art doesn't come from just someone telling you what to do. It takes practice. Our first couple times waxing were pretty bad. The lines were super thick, we couldn't get the wax to follow the lines at all, the wax would also drip, ruining other parts of the drawing. After about a half hour of wax attempts, we started getting the hang of it. It still wasn't great, but it wasn't like it was gonna ruin our whole drawings.

It was time for the real thing. We were given our batik we had so nicely traced, fully ready to ruin it. Now we realized that the exactness in our drawing was very useless. A worker had noticed how complicated of a drawing Montana's was and decided to help her. By the time she was done with her practice round, the worker had finished tracing the bird with wax. He left the leaves, trees, and other details for Montana.

After about an hour of waxing, we were finally ready for the next step. We were given our practice picture to practice painting with. Batik painting was very hard, since when put on the fabric, it didn't look like the color it was actually going to turn out like. Blues looked like grey, greens looked like brown. We had to accept that we would have no idea how it was going to turn out. We could only try our hardest and hope for the best. The paints in batik were very liquidy, probably so the paints could spread throughout the cloth, until it hit the wax, which stopped it. The paintbrushes weren't typical either. There was a thick one, which were not quite sure what it was made out of, and a thin one, which was a stick of bamboo. In the middle of practice painting, a worker took us over one by one to choose our stamp and stamp our picture. The stamp was just for decorations around the edges. LuRue chose something that looked like waves and Montana chose some leaves. We stamped our project by dipping the stamp in wax and holding it onto the fabric for a bit.

After a little more practice painting, it was time for the real thing. LuRue had decided to not plan any color pattern and hope for the best. Montana was still trying to do some planning. We probably spent 2 hours coloring our batiks. Close to the end of it, the workers started helping us, because they wanted to close down on time and get home. LuRue's helper colored in the background and the edges for her, while she was still working on the fine details. It was obvious he just wanted to get home. Montana got lucky though. Her worker was honestly trying to make her work the best it could be. When Montana thought it was done, the worker kept coming back with paints and adding fine details, like shading to the wings, or textures to the background. Montana was very grateful for all the effort he put into it.

Our drawings were set out to dry and some who didn't have much time to dry were dried with a hair dryer. It was time for the real colors to come out. A worker dumped our batiks into the "fixer", a mix of different chemicals. As promised, the colors did change. He then put them into boiling water for the wax to come off. We were both satisfied with our batiks. LuRue said she thought hers looked like a kid drew it. Montana's would've been about as equal if it wasn't for the worker helping her. It was time to head back.

LuRue's Before Dipping

LuRue's After

Montana's Before

Montana's After

Now we have a new appreciation for batik artists.

Originally, the hotel had scheduled a Balinese dance class at 5, but both of us were too tired, so when we got back, we talked to the people and rescheduled it for tomorrow. We both glad they were willing to reschedule on such a short notice.

We rested up for a bit before heading to dinner. We decided to try out our hotel's restaurant. The menu was scarce, but the meals were pretty good and like usual we ended on a dessert, which was ice cream tonight.