Search This Blog

Thursday, August 23, 2012

AWESOME Crayon Batik!

UPDATE!!!
I got an amazing comment from Phyl...if you are going to do this, you might try these tweaks to my lesson that was left in the comments section by one of the greatest art teachers, Phyl, that ever lived!!
I used to do crayon batik every year when I taught 7th and 8th graders. It was one of my favorite things to do. We also did some 'authentic' batiks with clear wax and multiple dye baths. Anyhow, your results are absolutely lovely.  

I did a few things a little differently when I did batik with my classes. First of all, we put our wax in muffin tins floating in electric fry pans - that way you don't have to worry about cracking glass. We used some paraffin and then added crayon color. The paraffin crackles quite nicely, and extends the crayon color so you don't need to use quite so many crayons. We also had a couple of wax melter units that could be used for smaller amounts of wax. For fabric, to save money we used old white sheets. The whiter the fabric, the brighter the results. So if you buy muslin, you want to make sure it is BLEACHED.

We did not use Rit Dye, because at the time they did not have cold water dyes. I recall using Procion cold water dyes - the colors were very vivid. If you add water to dye, it cannot be warm! 

We ironed between newspaper, and used a LOT of newspaper to get out all the wax for a whole class of students. I would be concerned that all the colored wax of the crayons could really ruin a dry mount press. I had an old iron that was just designated for wax stuff.



Today we had our art in-service and the AMAZING Kathy Frith, taught us all about BATIK MAKING!!!!
Tomorrow I will post another class we had making jewelery with metal and resin by Mrs. Mary Tavares and Stephanie Walton!!
batik22
Thank you Mrs. Frith for coming and teaching us ALL about BATIKS!!
batik32
Batiks origins can be traced back to Asia, India and Africa. Some say the word is of Malay roots and translates "to write" or "to dot".
Batik is an art medium and methodology for creating design, usually on cloth, by applying wax to portions of the material and then dyeing it, then removing the wax. This can be done to make vibrant colors and incredible designs.
Batik is said to be an ancient art that has been handed down for thousands of years. It is said to be wide spread as the Middle East, Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Thailand, Philippines, India and more!
Although the exact origins of batik are unknown, it is most common on the island of Java, Indonesia. It is known when the art of batik was first practiced in Java, batik belonged only to royalty and families of wealth and position. It was a hobby for the royal woman. Aristocrats and royalty had certain designs identifying a family, social status or geographical location on the island. Many of these designs have survived to this day. Today it is believed that certain patterns have special meanings and are thought to bring the wearer good luck, wealth, prosperity, health, etc. We hope it brings you good luck and prosperity when you wear your sarong from 1 World Sarongs.
Currently, batik art has spread to India, China, Malaysia, Europe and Africa. It has become a skill and art of many great cultures. Today it is worn world wide by men and women, and can be seen almost anywhere. Artists typically decorate their batik fabrics in any way they are inspired. Because the art is becoming more and more popular there are lots more resources for the artists. This is yielding many types of designs, colors, and patterns. Batik is being used to make many different items some of which you'll find on 1 World Sarongs. Mainly clothing and sarongs, but if you go to our Indonesian Art page and look under Masks you'll find batik is being used as well.

First off, here are the directions with the materials listed…
batik29
Kathy lets her students peel crayons when they finish their work through-out the year
batik2
You will need muslin, and a paper to draw on. Another paper is needed  to put on top and trace to make sure there is room for tape and a nice border
batik9batik12
draw your simple design and trace with a sharpie.  Then tape the drawing down to a piece of cardboard with two pieces of tape and tape the muslin on top( all four sides )
batik11batik10
Use baby food jars in an electric frying pan filled with water. Heat the water until the crayons melt inside the baby food jars. Make sure the water doesn’t run out or the jars will crack. The construction paper crayons work very well because they have white in them. Use crayola crayons, because any others tend to get clumpy and gooey. You can add white to the colors to make them appear brighter on the muslin.
batik4
batik3
I used an image from my ipad of my daughter, but I would not recommend doing a portrait since it ends up all wrinkly looking!! A simple design with little detail works best. After you draw the design, outline with sharpie.
batik13batik27
Tape the muslin over your drawing on a piece of cardboard
batik16
Then paint!! It was really fun painting with melted crayons! Remind students that they can’t overlap. Whatever color hits the muslin first, is the color it will be at the end. If they drip on their design, tell them to wait for it to dry and then scratch it off.
batik14
batik15
batik23
batik24
batik40
batik26batik25
When the painting is finished, peel it off the cardboard,
batik21
and crumple it up into a ball OVER THE TRASH (the crayon crumbles off a little) Don’t crumble too much just one or two times, then open it up and shake it a little over the trash)
batik35
Pour some Rit dye into large, labeled containers. Add a little water, but you want it to be very thick and dark. Royal blue, red, purple, and black work best
batik34
Let the muslin soak for 10-20 minutes or more if desired, and then pull it out and ring it out a little. You can rinse a tiny bit if desired, but not necessary
batik33
batik36
Place the design on a clean white paper to create your print. Then put five pieces of newspaper on top and five pieces on the bottom
batik39
Place it inside a dry mount press or use an iron for about one minute. Do not over do it or the colors will all melt together.
batik38
When you take it out, you will have two works of art. A print, and the batik!! It will be dry, and flat, and beautiful!!! This melts the wax out of the fabric and into the paper, so all that is left behind is the beautiful colors on the fabric!!
batik37
batik18
batik31
Judy specializes in Zen tangles, which make beautiful designs for batik!!! She ended up with a beautiful print on the paper AND the newspaper!
batik28
batik5
batik1
batik20
This project works well for fourth grade and above. If you want to modify it for the lower grades you can use melted clear parafin wax to paint with, and then one color dye, as seen below.
IMG_8162batik8
batik17
You can also paint a design with the clear paraffin wax, and paint it with watercolor paint!!! You will do the same thing as with the crayon batik, by ironing or pressing it after its painted to melt the wax out of the fabric.
batik6
If you try this, pleas send me an image to add to this post! I love when my readers send me examples of what they have made!!!

49 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for sharing this. This is a wonderful project. I never thought to do batik like this. I am thinking about using this for junior high and my high school classes too! Awesome pictures also.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! It is alot of prep, but Kathy said the kids really LOVE it!She does it every year! I enjoyed it immensely, and would love to do it with my classes this year. I think it would be good for middle and high school too, although they might not be as hyped about peeling crayons as the little ones!

      Delete
  2. This is so awesome! I've never done real batik before and it's very interesting to see the amount of work that goes into. It looks like a lot of work but it also looks like it's worth it! This might be something I can try with my art club after school! Definitely pinning this!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, it is very cool and the results are gorgeous!It would be perfect for art club!

      Delete
  3. This is a wonderful project! I pinned it on Pinterest so that I can remember it. If you prefer me not to have it pinned, please let me know! Thank you for sharing it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Fantastic! I think we will use this for a organic shape, O'Keeffe inspired lesson

    ReplyDelete
  5. Natalie, I love how you step by stepped this! I've never quite known how to do it before and it is beautiful!!!! When you crumple the muslin and the crayon comes off, is that what leaves the dye in the actual "painting" part of the batik? How many crayons do you have to use to do this?! It would seem like a gazillion in order to get so many done! Does she just keep throwing crayons in throughout the process or do you depend on making sure they are all melted by the time the kids come in? Just curious.... I love love love it!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Years ago I made curtains for my classroom using cheap cotton fabric and oil pastels. The kids drew personalized pictures and messages all over the fabric with oil pastels, then we ironed it out with newspaper leaving the color print on the fabric. They were very cool! I love the batik take on this as real batik, which I've done with High School classes, involves heat sources and melted wax, and is just not doable with large classes of younger children. I'm definitely going to give it a go. Thanks!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am Malaysian and i am do batik. Most of them is handpainted on the high quality rayon.
    Feel free to surf my blog and website at:
    www.blossombatik.com
    www.blossombatik.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is simply amazing too! Pinning!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your crayon batik presentation is totally awesome! It was fun to see so many photos.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thank you for the clear discription and pictures. i am inspired!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Very clear tutorial. Love this project and since I have Muslim and crayons I'm going to have to try it one day. Maybe I can get the grands to peel the crayons. Would make a great wall hanging. Dee

    ReplyDelete
  12. Fantastic and I really appreciate the photos to go with the instructions. I remember well doing this in grade six, in public school, with two crazy (read: awesome) teachers! This would be a very fun Girl Guide camp craft; hmmmm! I am pinning this one! :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Somehow I missed this when it was first posted - but anyhow - I used to do crayon batik every year when I taught 7th and 8th graders. It was one of my favorite things to do. We also did some 'authentic' batiks with clear wax and multiple dye baths. Anyhow, your results are absolutely lovely.

    I did a few things a little differently when I did batik with my classes. First of all, we put our wax in muffin tins floating in electric fry pans - that way you don't have to worry about cracking glass. We used some paraffin and then added crayon color. The paraffin crackles quite nicely, and extends the crayon color so you don't need to use quite so many crayons. We also had a couple of wax melter units that could be used for smaller amounts of wax. For fabric, to save money we used old white sheets. The whiter the fabric, the brighter the results. So if you buy muslin, you want to make sure it is BLEACHED.

    We did not use Rit Dye, because at the time they did not have cold water dyes. I recall using Procion cold water dyes - the colors were very vivid. If you add water to dye, it cannot be warm!

    We ironed between newspaper, and used a LOT of newspaper to get out all the wax for a whole class of students. I would be concerned that all the colored wax of the crayons could really ruin a dry mount press. I had an old iron that was just designated for wax stuff.

    Lastly - some cautions when doing this with students, since your readers were talking about doing this with young kids - the melting wax is a fire hazard. We stationed our hot plates near open windows. Second of all, there are fumes that you might not even realize. When we spent a couple of weeks working daily on batiks in my room, by the end of the first week everyone was skating around the classroom. The fumes lay down a sheen of wax on the floor that is not visible, but boy does it get slippery! It was fun but dangerous! Probably the safest way to do this project is in smaller groups, such as with an art club or a summer workshop. Check with your school custodial or safety person to make sure you won't be inadvertently setting off fire alarms, and have an unplug plan for fire drills.

    I don't mean to put a damper on this awesome process, but there are definitely safety and management concerns when working with a whole class. That's why I have resorted to the wacky toothpaste and aloe vera resist for an imitation batik!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. what is the wacky toothpaste and aloe vera resist ?

      Delete
  14. Looks like so much fun. Where do you find Batik fabric at????

    ReplyDelete
  15. I have to change newspapers and iron several times to get all my wax off. In doing so I am accidentally over melting some of my design. Also my batik is turning out more muddied in color by the black dye. It is not only sticking in the cracks as yours is. I am not getting the bright crisp results like I was hoping. Anyone have any ideas?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe your fabric needed pre washing to rid the starches for the wax to really soak in.

      Delete
  16. Maybe your fabric needed pre washing to rid the starches for the wax to really soak in.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I did this when I was little & LOVED IT!!! I've looked for the instructions for at least 20 years. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. ez fantasztikus! kipróbálom!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Love this!! Do you have a newsletter? I would love to get updates!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I remember doing this in elementary school! So much fun! We will have to try it here when the kids get a bit older.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I have been hunting everywhere for a batik teaching sequence that is easily followed and produces great results. Batik was one of my favourite art activities until it got harder and harder to get hold of the materials I needed without them costing too much. I love that fact that you have used materials that are easily accessible and I can't wait to give this a go with my 10 & 11 year olds. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  22. We just did this project today with my homeschooled children, ages 14, 12, 9, 7 and 5. The results were fabulous and everyone was pleased with the results. It was interesting to see the relationship between how think the crayon was laid on vs how much "crinkling" was done and how much ironing was done. We had a wide variety of results. Thank you so much for writing such a detailed post on how to do it. Thanks! I am not sure how to post a photo in the comments, but I linked to my facebook post. Hopefully you can see it. https://www.facebook.com/kriste.duke/activity/10206968550831873

    ReplyDelete
  23. I don't understand the update of the following muffin tin in electric fry pans. Do you have a photo?

    ReplyDelete
  24. I absolutely love this!!! I will try it with my advanced students! Thank you... :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. I absolutely love this!!! I will try it with my advanced students! Thank you... :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. My gosh, this is the project I've been looking for! It is amazing! Thanks so much! I'll send you pictures of the results. (downtowon Toronto, Canada)

    ReplyDelete
  27. I found this blog after a long time which is really helpful to let understand different approaches. I am going to adopt these new point to my career and thankful for this help.หน้าหมองคล้ำ

    ReplyDelete
  28. Social Media marketing is very important for online business. Along with Social Media Marketing you can also utilize SEO and email marketing to get benefits of growth in your business.
    Custom Printed Boxes
    Custom Boxes with Logo

    ReplyDelete
  29. I cannot thank Mr Benjamin service enough and letting people know how grateful I am for all the assistance that you and your team staff have provided and I look forward to recommending friends and family should they need financial advice or assistance @ 1,9% Rate for Business Loan .Via Contact : .  247officedept@gmail.com. WhatsApp...+ 19893943740. Keep up the great work.
    Thanks, Busarakham.

    ReplyDelete
  30. We offer custom boxes that give you full liberty of customizing the entire packaging at every step. Packaging is the first thing a customer notices. It has to be spot on to appeal to the customers. The visual appeal ticks a customer before they could actually choose a product. Packaging is the first impression we are committed to make that leaves a lasting impact on the customers.
    Custom Packaging Boxes
    Soap Boxes
    Slider Boxes
    Nail Polish Boxes
    Lipstick Boxes
    Pillow Boxes
    Custom Lip Balm Boxes

    ReplyDelete
  31. This was an extremely wonderful post. Thanks for providing this info.
    edward cullen peacoat

    ReplyDelete
  32. Simply wish to say your article is as astonishing. The clarity in your post is simply great, and I could assume you are an expert on this subject. Same as your blog i found another one Sohman Epoxy .Actually I was looking for the same information on internet for
    Polyamides
    and came across your blog. I am impressed by the information that you have on this blog. Thanks a million and please keep up the gratifying work.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Our the purpose is to share the reviews about the latest Jackets,Coats and Vests also shre the related Movies,Gaming, Casual,Faux Leather and Leather materials available Smokey And The Bandit Jacket

    ReplyDelete
  34. I was just in Java(Jogjakarta), Indonesia and went to the royal palace where workers were working on the royal batik (presents for famous visitors like Clinton, Obama, etc)..I took a lot of photos of the women working on batik patterns-If you want to add these photos to your presentation, let me know and I can email them to you.
    Michaela Marusak

    ReplyDelete
  35. Pretty good post. I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts.Any way Here I am Specialist in Manufacturing of Movies, Gaming, Casual, Faux Leather Jackets, Coats And Vests See Luke Skywalker Poncho

    ReplyDelete
  36. It was not first article by this author as I always found him as a talented author. Snake Plissken Jacket

    ReplyDelete
  37. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  38. The tape is likely to come off if these places are not properly adhered to since the adhesive will not have its maximal grip on the material. The majority of adhesive tapes need some time to connect with the opposing surface since the adhesive is time-sensitive. Wrapping Film/Cling Film

    ReplyDelete
  39. Puffer power meets ninja vibes. Get ready to rock the Naruto Akatsuki Puffer Jacket look

    ReplyDelete
  40. All your creative works look absolutely great and special appreciation for your effort and hard work. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this blog. For me, it seems like a heaven with full of colors and joy. Thank you for the valuable share.
    Web design company Dubai | Digital marketing agency in Dubai

    ReplyDelete

Total Pageviews