The Art and things we've made thread...

[Recusant]

Beautiful piece, sir. I can see the expression of dance in it.    Thank you for posting it!

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I thought of you when I posted this item about the heat shield on the Orion space capsule. In the article the image can be opened in a large size, which will allow closer examination of the scorched and abraded tiles.

[hermes2015]

Beautiful piece, sir. I can see the expression of dance in it.    Thank you for posting it!

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I thought of you when I posted this item about the heat shield on the Orion space capsule. In the article the image can be opened in a large size, which will allow closer examination of the scorched and abraded tiles.

Thank you! 

Yes, that heat shield appeals to me.

[hermes2015]

I have done batik projects now and then over the years. Batik is a technique that is used to make designs on fabric, usually 100% cotton. Selected areas of the design are blocked out by applying hot wax to the cloth before dye is applied. The parts covered in wax resist the dye and remain the original colour. A simple batik may be just one layer of wax and one dye, but this process of waxing and dyeing can be repeated many times if necessary to create more elaborate and colourful designs. After the final dyeing the wax is removed (usually in hot water) and the cloth is ready for wearing or displaying. I have started using soy wax, since it has a low melting point of around 50°C, which makes it easy to remove from the finished piece. The usual dyes used by hobbyists at home are reactive dyes that have to be applied at high temperature, so cannot be used with soy wax. This is where my chemistry background comes in and I am able to use industrial dyes called vat dyes, which work in dye baths at room temperature.

I think some of you will find the chemistry of vat dyes interesting. Vat dyes are molecules that are insoluble in water. To make them bond to cloth fibres, the are converted into a soluble form by a reduction reaction with sodium dithionite (Na₂S₂O₄) in a sodium hydroxide solution, at the same time forming the sodium salt. The soluble sodium salt bonds strongly to the cloth. After oxidation to the insoluble form the colour is permanent and does not fade when the cloth is boiled in water or exposed to the sun. Here is an example using one of the red vat dyes:



The oxidation step is simply done with oxygen in the air by hanging the cloth on a washing line. The soluble leuco form is usually a very different colour to the insoluble form, and it is fun to watch the final colour develop slowly when the cloth is exposed to the air. Indigo is an example of a vat dye used to dye denim jeans.

My most recent batik is piece made for a specific location. Here are some of the steps and the final wall hanging:



First waxing:



First dye stage in an orange-red vat dye bath:



The finished piece after multiple wax and dye steps. The wall hanging is 950 x 950 mm in size:



Some special tricks are required when complementary colours like the red and green in this piece are used together. Another difficulty that people experience, when they use normal domestic dyes, is achieving strong blacks. It is obvious that I managed to get a beautiful black with my industrial vat dyes.

[Recusant]

Wonderful use of the technique, and I enjoyed your brief discourse on dye chemistry. I like the vibrant colors and the amazing black. Thank you for posting it, hermes2015!

[hermes2015]

Wonderful use of the technique, and I enjoyed your brief discourse on dye chemistry. I like the vibrant colors and the amazing black. Thank you for posting it, hermes2015!

Thank you, Recusant. Batik is a wonderful amalgamation of chemistry and art, which I find satisfying.

[Dark Lightning]

Looks great! Nice, crisp lines on a batik...I've only ever used paraffin, 60 years ago. #notanartist

[hermes2015]

Looks great! Nice, crisp lines on a batik...I've only ever used paraffin, 60 years ago. #notanartist

I also used to use paraffin wax, sometimes blended with beeswax, but switched to soy wax because it is so much easier to wash out. I didn't want too much crackling, so made a dye bath big enough to allow the whole almost 1 meter square cloth to lie flat. That's one reason it came out very crisp.

[Icarus]

Hermes it would be possible to add some intricate detail to the Batic by using screen print methods.  Use about a 110 mesh screen, typical in the tee shirt business. The wax. if it has viscosity similar to plastisol ink, would be easy enough to use. Plastisol is about the consistency of pancake batter in most cases.

[hermes2015]

Hermes it would be possible to add some intricate detail to the Batic by using screen print methods.  Use about a 110 mesh screen, typical in the tee shirt business. The wax. if it has viscosity similar to plastisol ink, would be easy enough to use. Plastisol is about the consistency of pancake batter in most cases.

I've never seen screen printing used to apply batik wax to cloth, but it would interesting to try it. One would have to find a way to heat the squeegee so that the wax stays in the molten state.

[Icarus]

Tee shirt printers routinely use a heat panel to semi cure an application of plastisol, before the next print color is added. That prevents the blending of successive colors.   

110 mesh is capable of about 40 line print.  I have used much finer mesh like 420 and 510 to produce as much as 120 line process work. In that case I was printing on metal or other non textile substrate. With the high end stuff it was almost always done with UV cured inks. Never wax though............

[hermes2015]

Tee shirt printers routinely use a heat panel to semi cure an application of plastisol, before the next print color is added. That prevents the blending of successive colors. 

110 mesh is capable of about 40 line print.  I have used much finer mesh like 420 and 510 to produce as much as 120 line process work. In that case I was printing on metal or other non textile substrate. With the high end stuff it was almost always done with UV cured inks. Never wax though............

That's interesting. I use a tool called a tjanting for lines and a broad bristle (natural, not synthetic) brush for big areas.

Like all techniques, it requires some practice, but I have become quite adept at its use.