Author // Georgina Auton, Place Graceville
Two years ago, Graceville local Wendy Fisher travelled to a remote island in Thailand.
It’s here she learnt the art of Batik and since then has practiced (and practiced), bringing her Batik Workshops to the people of Brisbane.
But what is Batik?
Batik is a form of painting on material, but before you apply the paint, you outline the design in wax.
You then fill the rest in with colourful paint, and when it’s dry, you boil the material.
The wax melts away, leaving you with white where the wax was.
It’s a skill that often takes time to master, but Brisbanites love attending Wendy’s classes to learn this ancient skill.
Wendy says it was done in the third and fourth century BC in Egypt. The rich would wrap their mummies in Batik.
“These days, it’s really the Javanese people that get credited with Batik and with advancing the skills of Batik painting,” Wendy says.
The artistic process is relaxing and done with careful precision.
“I love Batik because throughout every step, things change,” Wendy says.
“When you draw it’s a certain image and when you wax it, you see change. When you paint it, it changes and when you boil the wax off, it changes again.”
“So you’ve got this ever-evolving piece of art.”
We were lucky enough to attend one of Wendy’s workshops to get a feel for the magical painting style that is Batik.