The Language of Cloth

Detail:New scarf design mid-century modern ” , Bentuk Bebas Series, #1

Detail waxed cloth before coloring. Bentuk Bebas #1, batik tulis, hand-drawn on hand-woven jepara silk.

Finished scarves hanging to dry after finakl coloring at Batik Asif Workshop, Pekalongan, Java.

Batik Asif Workshop, Pekalongan, Java

Pak Amin, master colorist at Batik Asif Workshop, taking wax out.

Hanging to dry after taking out the  wax (lorod)

New scarf design, “Rumput Laut”, sea grass, batik tulis, hand-drawn on hand-woven Jepara silk

Asif (white shirt) discussing steps in coloring with Pak Amin.

Asif inspects finished scarves hanging to dry.

Coloring batik in the method used in Pekalongan. The cloth is immersed into the v-shaped trough of dye bath. With a heavy hardwood roller holding it to the bottom, the cloth is pulled out from one end to the other by two people, back and forth going through the dye bath until the right amount of color is absorbed.

Coloring.

Coloring

Batik cap. The design is applied in wax with a copper stamp.

Finished batik