Batik

What is Batik?
Batik is a wax-resist fabric dyeing technique that originated in Indonesia. Below are some examples of Batik designs.

To make batik-making more child-friendly, we replaced the hot wax with oil pastels and subsequently cool wax.

Lesson 1:

Using Elements of Art (lines, dots, shap, space), the pupils had to use an oil pastel (also called wax oil crayons)  to create their design on rice paper. Thereafter, they applied the batik dye onto the rice paper to get their colours.

The children learned how to control the amount of water used when applying the dye onto the rice paper.

To achieve a lighter colour, they learned that they had to dilute the dye with water. For a darker and more vibrant colour, they had to use less water.  

Here are the finished products! :)

 

Lesson 2:

Havng learned about Life Cycles during their Science curriculum, the pupils were given the task of choosing a type of life cycle and expressing their understanding of the concept through Art. They were encouraged to create a story in their art piece rather than represent it through a diagram.

Using cool wax, the pupils did the outline of their life cycle story on rice paper. Thereafter applying it with colours from the dye.