Batik is an Indonesian word meaning writing with wax.

Waxed areas create a resist design that dyes and paint cannot penetrate. Traditional batik techniques involve successive applications of wax and dye, submersing the fabric in a dye vat, one color at a time and layering the wax resist. In this class we use a more modern technique of painting diluted acrylic paints instead of vat dyes. This allows the artist to create a variety of colors next to each other without the colors mixing with the previous layer. Traditional Indonesian tools and brushes will be used to apply hot soy wax resist to the fabric. Resist and dyed areas can be layered to create complex designs and lovely textures. Students will be able to create several samples of finished artworks.