Batik Celebrities

Malaysian Batik and Miss England

Khalid Shamsuddin and Miss England 07/08 - Batik Jacket

Shows like these really makes me feel as if I should start modelling. This English beauty represents one of the perfect correspondence of batiks to the Western world. Not just Blondies could do it, but also red heads. It doesn't really matter how you are, any batik design or art painted on your batik shirt could just fit you well. The most important thing is, the correct wear, mix of colors, and your showcase to the world!

Joy of Batik Art

Batik Art with Love

Batik painter painting joyfully

If you're making your own batik, always be sure to love the art. Nothing can be more damaging and more daunting than getting your batik tools ready, silk cloths and wax ready then leaving the job halfway done.

Famous Asian Batik cultures: Bali, Yogyakarta (Jogjakarta), Phuket, Malaysia.

Batik Making: Handmade and Factory

What is your batik style?

Batiks derive in many different patterns, designs, colors and shapes, as you can see from pictures depicted in My Batik blog. But what would be the best solution to your batik style?

Handmade Batiks - Catch your style

Handmade batiks are generally more expensive in price - Let's not talk about the material first. Women tend to naturally 'compete' herself with other girls in terms of wearing. We don't want to wear the same thing as another do. That's basically one of the reasons why I'm so selective in dressing.

The good thing about handmade batiks is that I draw a line to my buying (in order to not blow my credit). Handmade batiks are unique by itself, and presents the natural combinations of whatever the batik painter is trying to depict. Cultural impact is second, and the next thing you know, if you get a good fabric on that hand drawn batik, have a tailor to make it a batik pareo or a batik skirt, you're off to the summer shores with your mates looking pretty good.

Color combinations during summer is crucial to attract attention - And being in the color contra zone could be an attention leech. During hot summer days, opt for bright blue cum yellow batik fabric for your beachwear, or wear something like an autumn green/golden bright color of batik. And as your unique, own hand made batik distinct itself already, you know you're going to get more than just a blink in the eye.

The Batik Bed

Chinese Batik Fabric on the Bed?

Ever wondered how batik designs could go to the bed and copped an Asian feel? While I would argue this batik design is not from any part of Asia, it does give a slight Chinese cum flowery feel to the design. If you're looking into getting batik art drawings on your comforter, or batik designs for your cushion covers, consider matching them with your Island-themed home / Asian cum batik-influenced theme design.

YangHaiYing Drawing: Flower Painting

This post is somewhat unrelated to Batik.
I was scouring through around the net the other day and found HaiYing's drawing to be simply amazing.

This is one of the techniques (in picture) for drawings. Go upclose and it'll look a little jaggy in lines.
Moreover, batik techniques are not this way. But this could be a good idea for your fashion wear this coming summer. Enjoy.

The Green Batik Story

Green Batik Fabric

Green batiks are one of the most sought after batik colors just right below chocolate colored batik, red, orange and any other tainted-looking-colored batik that's available in the batik industry today. Many famous batiks, hand drawn to perfection or sometimes painted by using batik chops are made in such a way that it tells a story behind a particular wearing.

Classic Malaysian examples of Mak Ciks' (aunties) wearing the batik sarong in their house, young housewives use for bedtime wear during the night, old uncles riding the bicycle to get to go for a drink wearing a woven batik sarong, etc.

As South East Asia is rich in its batik makings, the green batik fabric matches distinctively with fair skinned ladies, with bright colors shining and attracting attention. The nature color suits young adults well when they're on the beach - While they'd garner the upmost attention when suited properly with a hibiscus flower pinned to their hair and Vox's sunglasses blocking the UV rays into the eyes and reflecting a sparkling shine to passer bys.

Batik Painting with Jill Kennedy

Want to paint your own batik?

Discharge Batik Painting with Jill Kennedy.

Cultures and Types of Indonesian Batik

There are so many types of batik around today. Ranging from African batik to Malaysian batik, they are all different, culturally. Let's see some of the different cultural batiks:

1. Batik Madura
   Colors are somewhat tilted more to red-orange, filled with bright colors, and has influence of the Chinese.
2. Batik Jogjakarta (Yogyakarta)
   This batik is more to black and white, as the batik color influenced the black and white fashion industry today.
3. Batik Sidoarjo
   A new hybrid. Mixture of Batik Solo and Batik Pekalongan. Has bright colors and embraces a wide variety of color mixtures.
4. Batik Pekalongan
   Of the most traditional and basic batik types ever made. Hints bright colors and has great color contrasts. More flowers and dragon patterns are available for this kind of batik.
5. Batik Solo
   Chocolate-black color influence. This cultural batik has influence of birds and cute little flying insects.

Batik Madura

Batik Jogjakarta (Yogyakarta)

Batik Sidoarjo

Batik Pekalongan

Batik Solo

Batik Mega Mendung

The empowerment of Chinese culture in Indonesia has seen various types of batik being made out of the Chinese influence. For the love of God, these mixes is what batik is all about - The Indonesian batik being translated from the stories needed to be much told to the world.

Here's the story of that batik.
Enjoy!

Batik Showcase

Batik Model - Blue, Purple and Leafy Batik

Have you been to a batik fashion show? I certainly have, and I've traveled across Malaysia and Indonesia and have seen a lot of batiks around. Their distinct nature makes each and every of their print unique, and batiks from different region has different designs - Of course, they're telling a different story.

I feel a little sad when it comes to modern batik designs because modern batik designs do not emphasize much on its culture, but rather just a beautiful pattern and design which makes it rhetoric and bland in culture - The batik story is lost! Some batiks are made to tell stories, some batiks are made to impersonate someone, some batiks are made to picture a place, and so forth.

However, if you do stumble upon a batik fashion show, please do inform me!

Do tell me about your experience with batik. Thanks!

Image Source: Daylife.com

Thanks a bunch for the pic!

More Indonesia Batik

Batik Indonesia - Butterfly and Insect Design - Can you see it?

Beautiful batiks are usually made with loads of love injected into it. This batik design, particularly from Indonesia (there is no mention of which part of Indonesia), is preserved to hold its culture: The insect-looking like nature, flowers being trampled by insects, a beautiful floral pattern in black, infused with red and dots shows very much the culture of the place, the beauty of their handicrafts and the leafs could signify the nature around them.

If you're heading to Indonesia, be sure to catch these as they are very nice!

Image Source: Discover Indonesia 
Thanks a bunch!

Batik: Putting it in Hot Wax

Embellish with Hot Wax - The best bloopers are a click away

When I was looking for batik videos today, I came across this batik video - Batik cloths/fabrics whatever you call it are placed into hot wax. Watch the process!

Portrait of lady making batik

Lady Making Batik - Hand-drawn

This picture is very classic, and it reminds me of my ancestors who'd probably (somewhere down the line) make batik. My grandmother use to be very fond of batik, and has then introduced my mother (and now me) the art of batik, and her very own clothes made by someone else hand drawn. Hand drawn batik is very unique, and for those who has taste for batik, you need to get one. Beautiful, unique batiks are not made just by a famous batik artist or famous batik companies, but more to the love of batik, as its 'love' is passed down from one person to the other.

And that'll be me, inheriting my mother's batik, which is my grandmother's. A very nice portrait drawn by J. Kam. Enjoy!

Image Source: Picasa Google 

Thanks a bunch for the photo!

Indonesia Batik from Java and Bali

Range of Batik from Indonesia

I love to surf around the net and look for nice, new batiks everyday. I think batik makers are fascinating. Batik has been around Indonesia since some time ago. With people wanting to communicate and share their culture in a silent, artistic form, batik is formed. The art of batik has then seen its design blooming all over the globe when it's populated.

The fixed design to the cloth brought many makers of batik today to explore into the world of beach wear, summer wear and tropical, Caribbean-style kind of wearing, and batik suits them all great.

Tell me more about your Indonesian batik experience!

Image Source: Tntech.edu.
Thanks a bunch!

The Batik Asia Girl

BATIK GIRL says:

Hi everyone, thank you for visiting my batik fabric collection and batik design blog. Here, I'll feature some of the best batiks the world has to offer, and also share with you all the batik history, insights, experience, people's design and also my personal experience in my journey to see the batik world.

I hope you can enjoy the pictures provided here - And also give me some feedback on it!
Hope to see you here often.