Time to Batik

Summer is batik time. In middle school, I expanded my Easter egg decorating skills with crayons and food coloring to this traditional Indonesian craft. I love designing, waxing and making a mess.

Batik is the art of using wax and dye to decorate cloth. Artists create intricate patterns by applying hot wax with brushes, spouted tools (tjantings) and copper stamps (tjaps) to protect certain areas when the fabric is dyed. The wax is then removed in boiling water and oftentimes the process is repeated with multiple colors.

Each year when the school bell rings for the last time, my batik supplies emerge from hibernation and soon take over the house. Rather than imitating traditional Indonesian repetition of elaborate patterns, I love painting loose designs that tell a story: a hot air balloon over mountains, various sea animals, koi fish in a pond.

While I welcome batik’s unpredictableness and endless opportunities to experiment, my family braces itself for the impending consequences. Over the years, batik has carved its mark into my home. The patio is permanently splattered with wax, bowls are stained with dye, and my back lawn is dotted with yellow patches where the grass never grew back after being doused with boiling water. During the pandemic, the Kilbourn household experienced several power outages after I left the wax heater plugged in for too long. Much to my brothers’ discontent, the wifi also went as well. But not to worry, after rummaging through the kitchen I found the perfect solution and the electric skillet disappeared from its cabinet perch.

With senioritis creeping in, batik planning has started early this year. A few more tropical fish will soon join the collection. And perhaps a peacock.