batik today

Today was my second meeting with a group based in the south east of Ireland. We meet once a month at a nearby centre known as Castlecomer Discovery Park which contains a group of craft outlet/studios and a museum featuring the local coal industry history. The surroundings include a couple of fishing lakes and a nice walking trail with a few sculptures sited along the way.
Today the featured skill was Batik, something I have not had the opportunity to try before. I found the process slower than I had expected, getting wax onto the fabric was much slower than painting for instance. However, in the right skilled hands there is undoubtedly much scope for subtle and complex results. If nothing else having a dabble in a new method lets you appreciate the experts work a little better.
Getting the wax out is more tedious than removing gutta (at least on a small scale) I would like to have another day, but using soy wax instead of the paraffin wax we used today, and leave the tjanting to add detail much later in the process.
I am always looking for new ways to get colour and textures into fabric, and may have found another technique to try today courtesy of a local printer who uses mount board to make her relief plates.
The results are most impressive, and the plates end up being things of beauty in their own right.
Maeve Coulter also makes felt and textile pieces, so a real all rounder.
I have used MDF to try some relief carving, but mount board would be easier on the wrists!
So you know, a couple of my hats below