Sometimes making a work is like growing a plant. You put the seed in the ground, cover it with rich soil and water it. Then you wait, wait till the little green plant shows its head, sometimes still wearing the seed as a hat.
My work 'Difficult Time' has been growing for almost 3 years now. In december of 2010 I started making my own design for a Batik Pagi-Sore (Day-Night Batik). I painted the design on paper with acrylic. I based the measurements on Batik Hokokai's using images from different Batikbooks. On my blog De reis naar Batik / The journey to Batik I wrote a post about my work 'Difficult Time' in March of 2012.* In this post you can read all about were I got my inspiration from for this work.
I made the design hoping it could be turned into a real Batik. Friday the 29th of november there was a surprise in my mailbox. Photos of two Batiks made after my Batik Pagi-Sore design 'Difficult Time'. My design was made into two Batiks by the talented Ibu Maryati of Jeruk village. I realized then, that although I have been working on this project since I first put my brush to paper, I haven't written about it on my website.
In October of 2009 I visited Java to learn about the art of Batik. I spent one month in Indonesia and met a lot of great people from the batik industry and the art scene. I was hoping to return very soon, but my health and finances had other plans for me. A difficult time for me started, but I also started to learn about Batik from books and by googling. Batik kept inspiring me and I used my travel-blog to share my newly learned facts and discoveries.
If I couldn't go to Indonesia to learn about and how to make Batik, I had to think of ways to learn about it here. I started visiting museums, even depots, to see Batiks and other beautiful things to do with Indonesian culture. I got in contact with other fans of this great heritage and Facebook turned out to be a great way to keep in touch.
On my journey on Java I met a dear friend and inspiring Batik expert William Kwan. Since 2000 he started up different projects, IPI, on Java to restore, rebuild and research the Batik culture.** In October 2009 I visited one of his projects in Jeruk. It was the most beautiful and inspiring place I visited during my journey to Batik! In Jeruk 12 women make and create their own Batiks. They also teach their daughters the technique and in this way the tradition is passed on to the next generation.
I wanted to be part of this tradition, I was looking for a way to learn more about Batik and how you make and create it. I also wanted to do something to support this heritage and the wonderful projects of William Kwan. I decided to make my own design for the ladies in Jeruk. I didn't know if the design would ever become a real Batik, that didn't matter, I just started painting. Added patterns and details as the year went by.
A year later my painting was finished and it was time for the next step: transferring it on to tracing paper & sending it by snailmail to Indonesia. Read about that soon in part II!
Detail of nightside "Difficult Time"
Detail of nightside "Difficult Time"
Detail of dayside "Difficult Time"
Detail of dayside "Difficult Time"
Detail of dayside "Difficult Time" * See blogpost "Difficult Time" on De reis naar Batik
** See blogpost "Put It In a Love Song" on De reis naar Batik
*** See "Overzicht PindaKAAS Light", written in Dutch
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