Batik is both the name of a wax resist dyeing technique, and the finished fabric it produces. The photo above shows a true Balinese batik, with its trademark “crackle” design. In principle it’s fairly simplistic, which belies convention. I tried my hand at making a batik with the help of Yvonne Sherer (a Jamaican master) a few years back. Time consuming, complicated and messy (the dye took weeks to fade from my hands) are the buzz-words. I recommend searching out an indigenous cloth (Bali, Pacific rim, West Indies etc) because when chromatically infused with Island ethnicity, batiks immediately transport you to the beach. Continue reading