The verb for taking out the wax from a batik is “lorod”. It is the most exciting step of a long process. Making a multi-colored cloth requires many dye bath immersions. Each new area of color is then covered with wax, so it’s easy to forget what colors are underneath by the third or fourth application of wax. One only hopes that the contrast between colors is strong enough to show the detail of the designs applied with the canting.
The last color bath for this batik was the blue on the border and some of the flowers. It is ready to be immersed in the boiling water bath to remove the wax and reveal the final results.
The batik cloth is immersed in boiling water and lift out with a smooth stick and held over the cauldron a few seconds to allow the melted wax to run off before it is plunged again into the water. this is repeated many times until the cloth is free of wax.
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