BATIK & PASTEL NAGOMI ART

I have always been interested in batik painting. When we went to Kuantan, Malaysia last month, we stayed at the Swiss Garden Resort which was a stone's throw away from the Kuantan Natural Batik Centre. I went there and did a simple piece of batik painting and immediately fell in love with the art.

When I returned to Kuala Lumpur I decided to look up Sam Karuna, a master artist in batik art. 

Sam invented Dyetik. Dyetik involves placing little dots on the material to form the desired image, à la Pointillism (a technique developed by Georges Seurat in the late 19th century). The result is a uniform mottled surface glow that Sam effortlessly tweaks to incorporate depth and dimension to his paintings. Unlike traditional batik techniques, he uses relatively less wax and more dye in his works.

This technique requires the use of a fine brush to paint the dye onto the fabric, a process called micro-pointillism.

So I went to his studio and spent 4.5 hours learning the basics of batik painting from canting to curing the art so the paints will stay fast and not bleed. Sam was extremely patient and I enjoyed the class thoroughly.

According to Sam, the word Batik means wax painting on a piece of cloth. The basic principle is to define a theme by blocking out the white part of the material with a mixture of melted paraffin and bees wax with any impression of dots or lines. Then adding on the colours, which will be absolved by the non-wax parts. To reach the dominant theme, the wax is dissolved, leaving the colours. The process is repeated until the artist reaches the motifs, making this a very interesting and challenging medium to work with.

Besides Batik painting, I also learnt Pastel Nagomi art from Lee Hsia, another patient and creative teacher from Melaka. Pastels are available in several types: hard, soft, oil and pastel pencils, each with their own unique characteristics. One of my favorite applications for pastels is sidewalk chalk drawings.

Pastel Nagomi Art originated in Japan. Nagomi means 'Harmony' and this art form is therapeutic, something similar to adult colouring. 

Lee Hsia taught me how to use pastel chalk, fingers and stencils to create a number of beautiful designs.

Now that I'm back in Ireland, the challenge is to practise both batik and pastel nagomi art on my own without the help of the tutors. I have bought the necessary raw materials for both the art techniques and can't wait to start trying out soon....