Wax resist dyeing of fabric is an ancient labor-intensive art form. It was used to wrap Egyptian mummies in the 4th century BC using wax soaked linen. Although some techniques vary by region, early Batiks have been found all over the Middle East, from India to Africa. By the nineteenth century, after the importation of more finely woven cloth from India and Europe, it became a highly accomplished art form in Java and Bali in Indonesia.

The first step is drawing the design on white fabric with hot wax. The wax seeps into the fibers of the fabric creating a resist barrier. I use a combination of tools (tjanting) and assorted sized natural hair brushes to achieve different line weights in my work. The piece above took one hour and twenty minutes for the first part of design. Once the design is complete, the fabric is ready for its first color change.

To change the color, the fabric is soaked in water, and then a series of chemicals baths and dye. The parts with wax on it will resist the dye, keeping the color it was previously waxed with, and the parts with no wax will receive the new dye color. Once the desired color is achieved, the fabric is hung to drip dry.

Once the fabric dries, it’s stretched out again and a new design is waxed in to keep the new dye color. (the previous white designs were waxed in, and now the yellow designs have to be waxed in. The fabric now has two layers of waxed design, (above: white and yellow) When the design is complete, the fabric gets another chemical and color bath and hung to dry. Once dry, that third color design is applied and the process repeats alternating between dyeing and waxing designs until the last design is waxed and dyed. The dye process also builds in color from lightest to darkest as the process progresses. The fabric is dyed the final darkest color and hung to dry in preparation for the next stage.

All of the waxed designs have to be boiled out of the fabric to see the true design pattern. Each piece I make is at least five yards in length, so it requires several boilings before the fabric is wax free. This pot holds 160 quarts (40 gallons) of water.

As the fabric hits the boiling water, the wax begins to liquefy and come to the surface. The fabric is boiled for some time, and stirred up frequently to release the wax trapped in folds. Because my pieces are so large, I often remove the fabric from the pot and re-boil several times, eliminating more wax with each boil.

Even after many boilings, there are still trace amounts of wax residue on the fabric, so I hand wash and scrub it before laundering. After laundering, the fabric returns to its original texture and is ready for transformation into garments or art presentation.