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Kamis, 17 Juni 2010

Batik Nusantara Indah, Nganjuk, East Java, Indonesia

Batik Nusantara Indah, Nganjuk, East Java, Indonesia

Batik, traditional fabric of Indonesia has been so popular and worn by many people. It has many colors, pattern, and the actual smell of batik.

The word 'batik' is believed to be derived from the word 'ambatik' which means 'a cloth with little dots.' the suffix 'tik' means little dot, drop, points or to make dots. Some experts feel that bathik was originally reserved as an art for Javanese royalty. Certainly the royal nature was clear as the certain patterns were reserved to be worn only by royalty from the Sultan's palace.

There are many kinds of batik found in Indonesia. One of them is Batik Nusantara Indah. It is a little bit different from the other kinds of batik. Batik Nusantara Indah was derived from Sasirangan (a traditional batik from Banjar, South Kalimantan which is made by tacking the white plain cloth based on the motifs drawn, binding some of the part with plastic rope or rubber bands and the dye it into the pigment). Batik Nusantara Indah also uses tacking and binding process, but it is also combined by painting process using paint brush and canting. To make Batik Nusantara Indah, an artist needs:

a. Natural Materials

Natural materials such as cotton or silk are used for cloth, so that it can absorb the pigment and wax that is applied in the dye resisting process. It is mostly plain clothes are used to make Batik. The cloth is dyed and washed in water many times.

b. Pencil

A pencil is needed to draw the pattern for the Batik Nusantara Indah. There are various pattern such as Sekar bintang, kulit kayu, daun, sekar kangkung,prasasti, and sekolah.

c. String

String is used to tack the cloth. The artist tacks the motifs that have been drawn on the cloth. The string which is commonly used is the cotton one. Because its steong enough to be tightened. The artist may choose either with tacking process, with painting only, or both. Artists also use string to make tie dye which is called 'jumputan'. Usually they also use coins and marbles to create certain motifs.

d. Canting

Canting is believed to be purely Javanese invention. It is a small thin wall spouted copper container (sometimes called wax pen) that is connected to a bamboo handle. Normally it is about 11cm in length.

e. Wax

Wax is used to lock the colors by covering the motifs which have been colored. It is not strange that sometimes there are various colors in a cloth.

f. Wajan

Wajan is a container that holds the melted wax. It looks like a small wok. Normally it is mde of iron. The wajan is placed on a small stove. The wax is kept in a melted state while the artist is applying the wax on the cloth. The wax must be kept in a proper temperature. A wax which is too cool will clog the spout of the canting. A wax which is too hot will flow too quickly and uncontrollable. The artist will often blow into the spout of the canting before applying wax to the cloth in order to clear the canting.

The process needs some steps to create good qualities. First the artist draw the pattern on the cloth, and then tack the cloth based on the pattern. Then, the tacked cloth is tightened in order to lock the pattern and dyed into the pigment. As the dyed cloth dry, the cloth is un-tightened from the string.

The next step is painting process. The artist then applies the wax on the pattern by using paintbrush and canting. As the wax getting stiff, the cloth is once again dyed into the pigment.

The last step is removing the wax from the cloth. It is done when the cloth is dry. And then the cloth is washed in order to remove the chemicals from the cloth.

The artist of Batik Nusantara Indah, Sri Suwarsih said, "This is a combination of many signs found in Indonesian Batik, and it just like a tree bark in the form of a cloth. It needs a long process to make a high qualitiy of batik, but when we see how good the result is, we will get satisfaction." Batik Nusantara Indah is produced in Nganjuk, East Java, Indonesia.

Hunt for this unique batik and feel the Indonesian atmosphere in it.

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