About Batik 

My most recent work incorporates watercolor on rice paper using the ancient batik method.

 

Batik is a technique of wax-resist dyeing applied traditionally to whole cloth originating in Indonesia. Batik is made by drawing wax dots and lines of resist with a tool called a canting or by printing with resist with a copper stamp called a cap. The wax resists dyes and allows color to selectively soak into the cloth. Boiling water is used to remove the wax. 

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"Wax resist dyeing of fabric is an ancient art form. It already existed in Egypt in the 4th century BC, where it was used to wrap mummies; linen was soaked in wax, and scratched using a stylus. In Asia, the technique was practised in China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), and in India and Japan during the Nara Period (645-794 AD). In Africa it was originally practised by the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria, Soninke and Wolof in Senegal. These African versions however, use cassava starch or rice paste, or mud as a resist instead of beeswax."

(Wikepedia)

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A tradition of batik is found in various countries. Indonesian batik from the island of Java is the best known and has a long history of acculturation. In October 2009, UNESCO designated Indonesian batik a a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. (Wikepedia)

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About Rice Paper

Handmade Unyru paper is made from the highly renewable resource, the mulberry tree. The particular paper I use has strands of gold or silver, pre-consumable, recycled, mylar added to it, adding interest to each piece. 

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