Batik: The art of visuals

-

                          Batik: The art of visuals 

C:\Users\admin2\Desktop\marquee-my-inbound-2019-1600x900.jpg

Humans have never been short of imagination. From the ancient art forms practiced by our ancestors to the modern hip hop, we always find a way to express our feelings. Batik is one of many unique art forms that were practiced by our ancestors, which has now gained some popularity in Europe. Here is a brief description of this elegant art. 

What is Batik? 

Batik is an old technique to create beautiful visuals on fabrics. Traditionally used on cotton or silk fabrics, the technique involves wax resist dyeing. Resist-dyeing is a method of dyeing textiles with patterns while preventing the dye to reach the whole cloth. This technique enables the artisan to dye different colors as per her/his wish. 

Brief History 

Wax-Resist dyeing is an old form of art which already existed in Egypt in the 4th century BC. There are a number of claims and assumptions about the origin of this old technique. Different cultures have found it at different times. Practiced during the 618-907 AD in countries like China, India and Japan, the technique was mainly developed in the island of Java in Indonesia. 

Practicing Batik 

The technique involves three main steps- waxing, dyeing and removing. The process is fairly simple. First of all, with the help of wax beautiful designs are created on a selected area of the fabric. Next, the fabric is dyed with the color artisan wishes to apply. The last step is to remove the wax by scraping or boiling the cloth so that the wax peels off. The outcome of this simple technique is a beautiful piece of cloth with some exquisite and attractive designs. 

Who can practice it? 

Large scale operation of this technique requires a lot of equipments and workers. Keeping things at small scale, this technique can be practiced by anyone, as long as the person has the skills and knowledge of dyeing and a touch of creating patterns. The technique can also be learned by attending various workshops on this form of art. After acquiring the basic know-how, the technique can also be used at home with some basic materials of cloth and painting. 

Famous Places and Types 

Some of the styles of Batik include coastal batik, Javanese batik and Sundanese batik. Different cultures have put in a touch of their own traditions to make this technique even more close to their society. There are currently four methods of batik, namely the splash method, the screen printing method, the hand painting method and the scratch and starch resist method. A number of different forms of batik can be seen in Indonesia. The technique is also seen in Malaysia, China, India, Africa and Sri Lanka.  

Present Day 

With increasing popularity around the world, today there are more than 1000 artists practicing this technique outside Indonesia. The fact that people like Nelson Mandela and Kate Middleton wore batik cloth clearly portrays how beautiful the work can be. Foreign figures have always had a keen interest in this form of art practiced. The demand has made Indonesia a big exporter of batik cloth, with United States being the biggest importer. With many other such art forms still alive and gaining popularity, we are privileged to live in a world that has countless cultures and traditions that make it a diverse yet wonderful place to live in. 

C:\Users\admin2\Desktop\bali_batik-01.png

                                                                                                          -Ishan Arora 

REFERENCES 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batik

https://www.utsavpedia.com/motifs-embroideries/batik-aworldwide-art/https://factsofindonesia.com/facts-of-indonesian-batik

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Smallest Computer In The World

-
Image
          The Smallest Computer In The World The Smallest Computer in the World Fits On a Grain of Rice. Researchers at the University of Michigan just created the world's smallest computer (again). After all, it's unclear if the IBM computer even counts as an actual microcomputer. The IBM device lost all its programming and data as soon as it turns off, unlike the Michigan Micro Mote, which retained its programming even when it wasn’t externally powered. “It’s more of a matter of opinion whether they have the minimum functionality required,” said David Blaauw, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at University of Michigan who helped develop the University of Michigan's newest tiny device. If the IBM machine constituted a computer, then University of Michigan would work to gain back their title: their latest micro device measures 0.3mm per side (1/10th the size of IBM’s computer), and is smaller than a grain of rice. The de...
Read more

Design Thinking - A Mindset

-
Image
Thinking generally indicates the way we carry out thoughts in our minds. It is the internal stimuli that trigger our mind and we are bound to set up an image of the thoughts which we carry from our inner instincts. Each of us first perceives the thoughts before it is brought into action. Thus our brain is an active part of the human body which generates those thoughts into action. Keeping in mind the process of thinking, thinking is divided as Positive thinking I t means thinking in the right direction and at the right time. Thinking about some positive aspects or views which will tempt us to arrive at concrete decisions. Those persons who always look at positive aspects of life they are called optimistic people. They are generally highly motivated, their innermost perseverance enhances the value of the goal for you and intensifies your motivation level.  Negative thinking It refers to those people who look at the darker aspects of life. They are called pessimistic people. They are...
Read more

Specialities of the month of May

-
Image
  Specialties of the month of May The month of May signifies so many different things to people that it is hard, to sum up, its importance in a single thought. While May is considered a time of new harvest and celebrations for farmers across the country, it also ushers in the dreaded Indian summers, which in turn is symbolized by vacations for children and family trips to the hills for a lot of Indian families.  However, the importance of May runs much deeper than just the basic symbolic inferences to which we as a society often restrict ourselves to. It also has a significant place of honor within religious and spiritual connotations, cultural diversity and societal practices. Here are some of the unique things which make May, the most mystical of all months: Despite a majority of months being named after Greek Gods and even the occasional Roman king, May is named after Maia. She is the Greek Goddess of fertility and this is signified by May being the month of harvest for far...
Read more