Batik Art By Gary Fey
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What is Batik?
The Indonesian word BATIK means "to draw with wax".
Batik began 2000 years
ago on the Island of Java,
in Indonesia. Wax is heated
to 300 degrees and drawn on
fabric with copper tools,
called tjuantings.
Gary Fey first dyed silk as a student at the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in the 70's. For over 25 years Gary
Fey has batik dyed silk.
Batik is a process art that involves many days of dyeing fiber and
drawing wax on fabric as a resist. Resist simply means once
wax is applied to the fabric the next dye applied will not affect
the waxed area. Wax resists further dyeing.
At first Gary Fey dyes the silk and lets it set over night. The next
day the silk is rinsed, dried, waxed over to save colors Gary Fey
wants to keep, and then the silk is re-dyed.
This process of washing, waxing and dyeing goes on until the
painting emerges from the once snow white silk, 7-10 days later.
Gary Fey's more expensive paintings can be re-dyed for as
many as 21 days.
The wax is removed by dry cleaning. When wax is in the fabric it
is stiff and colors are darkened. The removal of wax restores
luminosity and shine to the silk surface.
Jacquard silk adds a holographic pattern that flickers in the art
when the viewer walks past the displayed painting. Fourteen
patterns of jacquard silk exist in the current collection.
Dye on silk creates deep vivid saturated color, the reason Gary
Fey has batiked on silk for so long.
The Indonesian word BATIK means "to draw with wax".
Batik began 2000 years
ago on the Island of Java,
in Indonesia. Wax is heated
to 300 degrees and drawn on
fabric with copper tools,
called tjuantings.
Gary Fey first dyed silk as a student at the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in the 70's. For over 25 years Gary
Fey has batik dyed silk.
Batik is a process art that involves many days of dyeing fiber and
drawing wax on fabric as a resist. Resist simply means once
wax is applied to the fabric the next dye applied will not affect
the waxed area. Wax resists further dyeing.
At first Gary Fey dyes the silk and lets it set over night. The next
day the silk is rinsed, dried, waxed over to save colors Gary Fey
wants to keep, and then the silk is re-dyed.
This process of washing, waxing and dyeing goes on until the
painting emerges from the once snow white silk, 7-10 days later.
Gary Fey's more expensive paintings can be re-dyed for as
many as 21 days.
The wax is removed by dry cleaning. When wax is in the fabric it
is stiff and colors are darkened. The removal of wax restores
luminosity and shine to the silk surface.
Jacquard silk adds a holographic pattern that flickers in the art
when the viewer walks past the displayed painting. Fourteen
patterns of jacquard silk exist in the current collection.
Dye on silk creates deep vivid saturated color, the reason Gary
Fey has batiked on silk for so long.
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| Good Thunder Batik, LLC |
| GARY FEY Batik Artist |
| Good Thunder Batik, LLC |
| A copper tool called a Tjuanting is used to draw with wax |
