Batik Painting

On a rainy Thursday we went to Craft Batik, a local business that sells batik clothing and housewares and where people can go to paint a batik item for themselves.  There were different sizes of cloth you could chose from ranging from a hanky size up to a tablecloth.  The wax designs are pre-done so all you have to do is paint inside the wax lines.  After the paint dries they will take your project, soak it in boiling water to remove the wax, hem it up, and even drop it off at your hotel or central location (like the Dalat school guardhouse) the next day.  It was a very enjoyable activity and as a family we would do it again.  It is almost like a foolproof craft - everything turns out looking really good (except for the occasional drip that lands in the wrong spot) in part because the colours are so beautiful and brilliant and the designs are pretty.

Drawing the wax designs

Another way of creating the wax design is to stamp it.

This is a stamped design made with two different kinds of stamps

A "professional" batik painter

Hannah did a lovely job on hers.  This still has the wax on it and is drying