Batik in Ireland - Research Project

Batik in Ireland

In this research project, I wanted to combine my two cultures with craft and design by learning and making an Indonesian craft in Ireland. The Indonesian craft that I created is batik. Batik is an Indonesian technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to the cloth. The cloth has many different patterns with a motif or story behind it. Between the 19th and 20th centuries, people commonly used batik in everyday clothing. It's now a part of Indonesia's traditional clothing. Each Island or province will have their motif and design depending on where you are from in the Indonesia archipelago.

In this project, I tried to attempt and create batik here in Ireland using materials and tools that I can find here in Ireland.

Half Blood

The design on this shows both of my cultures in one canvas. I'm delighted with the drawing of the Indonesian half, as it was a lot more creative and complete than the Irish half. I wasn't confident in the Irish hold as the knots were too hard to draw without any guidelines.

Celtic Tree of Life

The tree of life symbolizes growth, strength and beauty. I wanted to use this symbol/ motif as it shows my growth between both of my cultures and their beauties in culture and craft.

Mega Mendung

Mega Mendung is an Indonesian and Chinese motif of batik. "Mega Mendung" translates to extremely cloudy, which shows the patterns of clouds. I like this pattern due to the clouds' organic forms, and even though it shows cloudy and gloomy weather, it is still a beautiful piece.

Materials and Technique

I used the same technique as traditional hand-drawn batik in this research project but with Irish materials. I used Irish materials such as linen, cotton, and beeswax with added paraffin wax. I was able to get my hands on the traditional batik pencil or 'Tjanting', but since it's not made here in Ireland, I designed one using CAD that'll probably fit my hands more to make it more comfortable for me.

This Project was really enjoyable, I hope to continue my research and maybe try to make my own motifs or illustrations in the future.

Here is a Booklet to read through my process and research.