Wax painting I
Created by Alena Isabella Grimmichová
grimmich.cz
The principle behind batik lies in covering parts of the fabric with wax. Wax is resistant to dye and once removed, the areas that had been covered remain white or retain the base colour of the fabric. You can create multicoloured compositions through repeated dying and waxing.
What will you need? Ponge 5 silk, dye for silk, flat and round brushes, beeswax, paraffin, a metal bowl and pan, packing paper and newspaper.
Prepare wax suitable for batiking by combining equal parts of beeswax and paraffin (you can use white candles, such as tea candles). Heat this in a water bath to a temperature high enough so that when the wax is brushed onto the silk, it is translucent and can penetrate the fabric.
1 First draw the pattern on paper, and then place this under the scarf. Pad the work area with cardboard or paper. Paint the design onto the silk using a brush dipped in wax. First paint the edges of the scarf. Silk is so fine, the wax will have little trouble penetrating both layers. These areas will remain white.
2 Paint the centre of the scarf pink and the edges light blue. When using the technique of gradually covering the entire fabric with wax, always start painting with the lightest colours. Once the dye is bone dry, continue to paint with wax. Besides painting, we also used a cork dipped in hot wax to stamp patterns onto the material (see
wax stamping.)
3 Occasionally lift the silk while painting to make sure it does not adhere to the padding. When the pattern is finished, turn the scarf over and, if necessary, correct the contours. Now paint with blue dye.
4 Repeat the process with another shade of blue.
Once the dye is completely dry, use a wide flat brush to brush wax over the entire surface. Allow the wax to harden – it can be placed in the freezer for a few minutes – and then carefully break the wax on the fabric.
5 Take care that it does not crumble off; if it does, wax has to be reapplied to that area. You yourself decide how many cracks you want to have – the more there are, the darker and more ‘indecipherable’ the batik will be.
6 Straighten the crushed silk and brush the black dye, mixed with a little washing-up liquid or other detergent that cuts through grease, into the crevices left by the broken wax. Again use the flat brush and move the brush in all directions, all the way out to the edges of the scarf. Blot up any excess dye with paper napkins. You have just created a crackled effect.
7
First crumble the excess wax off the scarf.
8 Place the dry silk between sheets of white packing paper and put 2-3 layers of newspaper on either side. Place an old sheet on the ironing board and the newspaper-wrapped scarf on top of this. Using an iron set to medium heat, iron the scarf to remove the wax. As soon as the paper becomes oily from the wax, exchange it for clean paper. Repeat until the wax has been completely removed.
9 Finished scarf
10 Finished scarf
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