At the entrance is a display of patterns used through the ages.
Some are used only by royalty. Others are specific for men, women, etc.
Some patterns are handed down from father to son,
upon his marriage or other special occasion.
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Sue-On's favourite panel.
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. .

A beautiful map of Indonesia done in batik.

Batik Artists At Work
Traditional patterns can be traced by hand with a light underneath.
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Another lady doing tracing work ~ Painstaking work.
. .

One woman can be working on several pieces.
The finished pieces are turned into table cloths, blouses, shirts, etc. on the same location.
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Some of the tools.
For borders and repetitive patterns, a stamp is used.
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Our guide demonstrating the stamping process.
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Dyeing vats. Wax is also removed by laundering in boiling water.
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*** A piece of batik in progress.
Wax is applied by hand (or brush for large areas),
with a pen much like the ones used in Easter eggs
*** Ladies at work applying wax to the patterns.
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More samples of batik.

*** Some pieces with background colour applied in a bath.
True batik must have the pattern showing on both sides of the fabric.
Cotton is best.
*** Wonder if this worker had been up boiling laundry all night long?!

Another display of traditional batik patterns.
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 .
THE BATIK SHOWROOM
We walked through the showroom, and Sue-On picked up three pieces for souvenirs.

JAVA CONTENTS
www.hillmanweb.com/indonesia/java

 INDONESIA INTRO CONTENTS
www.hillmanweb.com/indonesia

Part of the
Hillman Travel Adventures
Bill and Sue-On Hillman