This crackle effect, so generally admired in the West, is often by the Javanese considered a defect, and a sign of poor workmanship. It can be largely, if not wholly, avoided by adding a large proportion of rosin to the wax, by batiking the cloth on both sides, and by dyeing the goods with as little crumpling as possible.
MODERN BATIK
The application of the artificial dyestuffs to this ancient process has simplified it greatly, and has brought it within the scope of craftsmen in general.
Apparatus—Brushes.—You will soon find that for a good deal of the work, such as covering large surfaces with wax, or filling in large and bold designs, a small-sized paint brush is all that is necessary. The wax is melted in a cup or casserole, and painted on the cloth wherever the design calls for it. It will be found, however, no easy matter to get sharp and clear outlines in this way, and intricate or delicate patterns cannot be worked out by the brush only. When the wax is hot, it is hard to prevent it from spreading and running too far over the cloth, and, on the other hand, it cools so rapidly on the brush that, unless applied at once, it is hard to spread it at all, and the wax is liable not to stick to the cloth.
Much is saved both in time and in accuracy and clearness of outline, by using the brush in combination with the tjanting, drawing the outlines with the latter, and filling in with the brush.
When large surfaces have been covered with the wax, and the characteristic “crackle” effect is desired, it is often well to cool the goods, by placing them in the ice box or out of doors for a few minutes, and then to crumple them in the hands, before dyeing them. The composition of the wax, also, has much to do with this part of the work, as will be explained later.
The brush can also be employed for painting molten wax on to the goods through a stencil, in resist stencil work. This, however, is not satisfactory, even with metallic stencils, and fails completely with paper stencils, because the wax, on cooling, fastens stencil and cloth together so that they cannot be separated without injury.
It is much better practice, where a stencil design is to be worked with wax resist, to make an outline of the design on the goods with a sharp pencil, and then, removing the stencil, to fill in the pattern with tjanting and brush. This same practice of drawing the outline on the goods with pencil, or tracing paper, or by transferring from a charcoal drawing, by rubbing, is always to be recommended: except for those craftsmen who are such thoroughly trained draughtsmen that they can draw their designs free-hand, with the tjanting, without danger of slip or mistake. A pencil or crayon line, if not quite true, can be erased without spoiling the whole design, but it is quite a troublesome matter to correct a mistake made in molten wax.
Tjantings.—The real interest in this Batik process lies in the use of some form of pouring instrument by which the molten wax can be applied to the material in a fine stream, with much the same freedom that a drawing can be made with soft pencil or crayon. This practice has been developed in Java to its fullest extent, and a fine sarong, containing two or three yards of calico, will be completely covered, from one end to the other, with wonderfully intricate and elaborate designs in two or three colors, all produced, perfectly free-hand, by curious little tjantings, in the light fingers of the little Javanese women.
