I have always loved the look of a batik and finally got brave enough to give it a try. Since I didn't know how to go about it....I decided to research it onthe net and found a method that acutally was quite simple and incorporated the use of crayons. You know how I feel about crayons ( see my biography...) so I just couldn't 'resist' it ( pun intended ) .
The wee chestnut Arabian was a first attempt and was fairly crudely executed...but I did learn how to overcome the drawbacks of the technique while working onthe second piece ( which took place right after the first...I had the 'bug' and HAD to repeat the process <grin>)
Since you are likely wondering what the 'process' is, I will excplain it.
1) Start with a clean, small piece of unbleached cotton or canvas, or silk.
2) Draw your design directly on the canvas with a fairly dark pencil.
3)Heat up a hotplate and place a muffin tin on or in it. Break the crayons into pieces in the muffin cups.
4) Using cheap paint brushes, start your painting with the lightest colours first...then medium colours and then the darker ones ( try to keep the dark colours to a minimum ) If your brush gets filled up with wax, press the bristles fairly firmly against the walls of the muffin cups nearestthe hot wax to remove it.
5) Wait for the wax to cool when you are done your painting ( put it in the freezer if need be to speed the process)
6) Crumple the whole piece up several times into a ball to get the cracked look.
7)Using a wide brush, paint over the whole canvas (top side where the wax is ) with either ink or thinned out acrylic black paint.
8) Allow the piece to dry.
9) Place newsprint under the piece, and then one or two pieces of paper over the waxy side. Iron with a regular iron. Do this several times until the extra wax is removed. This part of the process heat sets the wax into the fabric.
Admire! :)
The wee chestnut Arabian was a first attempt and was fairly crudely executed...but I did learn how to overcome the drawbacks of the technique while working onthe second piece ( which took place right after the first...I had the 'bug' and HAD to repeat the process <grin>)
Since you are likely wondering what the 'process' is, I will excplain it.
1) Start with a clean, small piece of unbleached cotton or canvas, or silk.
2) Draw your design directly on the canvas with a fairly dark pencil.
3)Heat up a hotplate and place a muffin tin on or in it. Break the crayons into pieces in the muffin cups.
4) Using cheap paint brushes, start your painting with the lightest colours first...then medium colours and then the darker ones ( try to keep the dark colours to a minimum ) If your brush gets filled up with wax, press the bristles fairly firmly against the walls of the muffin cups nearestthe hot wax to remove it.
5) Wait for the wax to cool when you are done your painting ( put it in the freezer if need be to speed the process)
6) Crumple the whole piece up several times into a ball to get the cracked look.
7)Using a wide brush, paint over the whole canvas (top side where the wax is ) with either ink or thinned out acrylic black paint.
8) Allow the piece to dry.
9) Place newsprint under the piece, and then one or two pieces of paper over the waxy side. Iron with a regular iron. Do this several times until the extra wax is removed. This part of the process heat sets the wax into the fabric.
Admire! :)