Learning the art of Batik

Mon, Jan 25, 2010
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Today I had the wonderful experience of a private lesson in Batik making. Batik is the ancient art of using wax and dyes to create beautiful fabrics with often intricate designs. Our hotel had a brochure advertising a small Batik class run by a local woman with a maximum class size of four. I was torn because I had been hoping to take a Thai cooking class while in Chiang Mai, but when I saw the Batik option, I decided to go for that instead. I know I can take a Thai cooking class in Minneapolis. Not the same, I know, but it helped me to make my decision.

The teacher, Kunh Ann, picked me up at the hotel at 8a.m and we drove to her home and studio about 15 minutes away. It turns out I was her only student for the day, so I got to have her undivided attention, which was great. She was a wonderful teacher and a fun woman to visit with. We learned a lot about each other’s cultures during the course of the day

First she showed me the different fabrics and dyes and waxes and canting tools (the tools used for transferring the wax to the fabric). Then we went into another room where we practiced dipping the tool in the wax and just doodling on fabric. At first I had a lot of blobs and drips on my fabric, but she showed me the secrets to starting and finishing a clean line. Then I got to choose a design, which was traced on to the fabric I would be working on. And then it was back to the wax station where the pattern was outlined using the canting tool and hot wax. Then things really got interesting. I began painting the pattern with the liquid dye, layering it and blending multiple colors to add depth and beauty to the fabric. I choose the color scheme and Kunh Ann suggested specific mixes of dyes to achieve the various shades I wanted. She also helped me learn how to best add color, but I pretty much did the whole thing myself. When the entire fabric was painted, we used sugar and salt to add special finishes to the piece. If you sprinkle sugar on the damp fabric, each crystal will leach the color from the point of contact, leaving you with a “starry sky” effect. If you sprinkle salt on the damp fabric, each salt crystal will set the dye and deepen the color in tiny little half circles that create a kind of wavy look. It’s really cool. I was so excited with my first piece. I loved the pattern I choose and the way my colors blended and the overall look of it. Talk about being jazzed.

We took a break for lunch then came back and did a second piece. This time I choose a slightly more complex pattern, and that was definitely a bigger challenge for me. I waterlogged my fabric a little and ended up with some of the colors bleeding a little into each other, but for a second effort, I was pretty pleased. The day ended at 4pm when I was driven back to the hotel, where I met up with Jeff who had rented a scooter for the day and drive all around the city and countryside. I’ll let him tell that story.