INTRODUCTION TO BATIK INDONESIA

Batik is an Indonesian national art form. People have used and produced Batik for centuries in Indonesia. Batik has been the trademark of the Indonesian clothing apparel.

It is a wax-resist dyeing technique that is

usually used on textile. Melted wax is applied to fabric before dipping in dye. The dyeing color will not

penetrate the waxed areas. When many colors are applied, the batik artist has to do a number of waxing, dyeing, and drying.

There are three types of batik:

1. Batik Tulis, or handmade batik. It is made by handwriting with softer motive. Wax is applied using a small dipper called "canting."
   
2. Batik Cap, or stamped batik. It uses a stamp, which made of copper, as a tool for putting the wax on the cloth.
   
3. Batik lukis, or painted batik. It uses wax for painting spontaneously and rapidly. 

Batik patterns can be divided into several categories:

1. Geometric motives.
2. Non-geometric motives (floral or animals patterns).
3. Pinggiran motives (edges ornament, border ornament, corner ornament).

Batik was first known in old palaces in Java, especially Yogyakarta and Surakarta palaces. The artists only used the handmade batik, and the coloring materials were the natural ones, either from animals or plants. The colors were first limited to soga (reddish brown) and nila (indigo-blue). Later Batik spread out to other parts of Indonesia, not only in Java, but also to Sumatra and Kalimantan.