Everybody is interested and captured by this form of originally hand crafted art. There are paintings used in batik style which are absolutely gorgeous and you cannot avoid to watch them for long time. There is something in our brain which is definitely very close to the intricate design of a precious batik. Something that can be researcged for example simultaneously with the Indian paisley feature (topic for a next post) or even the fractals in geometry.

The path drawn by these ancient artists holds relevant association with the native aspects of the mankind which are all certainly to be discovered and looked after in the future.

The batik tecnique comes from different areas: Indonesia, Bali, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and also Mali, Cameroon, India, Sri Lanka. The procedure requires especially wax as reported in wiki:   

Melted wax (Javanese: malam) is applied to cloth before being dipped in dye. Wherever the wax has seeped through the fabric, the dye will not penetrate. Sometimes several colours are used, with a series of dyeing, drying and waxing steps.

Thin wax lines are made with a canting needle (or a tjanting tool), a wooden handled tool with a tiny metal cup with a tiny spout, out of which the wax seeps. Other methods of applying the wax onto the fabric include

• pouring the liquid wax,
• painting the wax on with a brush,
• applying the hot wax to precarved wooden or metal wire block and stamping the fabric.

After the last dyeing, the fabric is hung up to dry. Then it is dipped in a solvent to dissolve the wax, or ironed between paper towels or newspapers to absorb the wax and reveal the deep rich colors and the fine crinkle lines that give batik its character. This traditional method of batik making is called Batik Tulis .

The invention of the copper block or cap developed by the Javanese in the 20th century revolutionised batik production. It became possible to make high quality designs and intricate patterns much faster than one could possibly do by hand-painting.

Contemporary batik, while owing much to the past, is markedly different from the more traditional and formal styles. For example, the artist may use etching, discharge dyeing, stencils, different tools for waxing and dyeing, wax recipes with different resist values and work with silk, cotton, wool, leather, paper or even wood and ceramics.

Batik is historically the most expressive and subtle of the resist methods. The ever widening range of techniques available offers the artist the opportunity to explore a unique process in a flexible and exciting way..

Long ago I got a beautiful book dedicated to Batik Pattern 1999 Pepin van Roojen and here they come  some of them listed in its cd rom: enjoy the beauty!  And try to make simple batiks by yourself with the tecnique you feel more comfortable with!

Patterns can be geometrical figures, flowers, plants, animals and people in a scale from the easiest to the most difficult.