Jambi batik
Sumatra is not known for batik like some other regions of Indonesia. I traveled a bit off the tourist track (well, even more so) to Jambi in order to see batik being made, and see how the Indonesian style is different than the Thai/Burmese style I'd been producing for a few years at my social enterprise Puzzlebox Art Studio. One of the biggest difference was that in Indonesia, the fabric is held in the hand while doing the wax resist designs rather than stretched on a frame. (but the reason for stretching fabric out in Thailand is that it's more common to do sweeping paintings rather than intricate patterns).
Another difference, which I didn't bother to shoot on film as obviously, I'd forgotten to load color, was that colors were always dip-dyed, while the style we did back home was painted on. (This again, is due to different design style in Thailand/Myanmar that doesn't allow proper coloration by dipping).
Jambi batik
Sumatra is not known for batik like some other regions of Indonesia. I traveled a bit off the tourist track (well, even more so) to Jambi in order to see batik being made, and see how the Indonesian style is different than the Thai/Burmese style I'd been producing for a few years at my social enterprise Puzzlebox Art Studio. One of the biggest difference was that in Indonesia, the fabric is held in the hand while doing the wax resist designs rather than stretched on a frame. (but the reason for stretching fabric out in Thailand is that it's more common to do sweeping paintings rather than intricate patterns).
Another difference, which I didn't bother to shoot on film as obviously, I'd forgotten to load color, was that colors were always dip-dyed, while the style we did back home was painted on. (This again, is due to different design style in Thailand/Myanmar that doesn't allow proper coloration by dipping).