Batik is an art technique of Indonesia that combines wax and colorful dyes to create a unique pattern for fabrics as well as art. Batik is originating from Java, but now can be easily found all over Indonesia. In the old days, batik is simply considered as traditional handicraft but nowadays it is a national treasure. Different from other fabrics, making batik takes a lengthy process that involves fabrics, dyes, and wax.
The meaning of batik
To the average Indonesian, batik is the ‘wearable art’. Lots of people, including foreigners, pay attention to batik. The unique thing about batik is different islands and places have different types of batik in terms of design, color, and motifs. High-quality batik requires high-quality fabric as well. Before making batik, fabric making takes intense labor craft. After the fabric is done, people spend days boiling plants for color. Creating a pattern and motifs on the hand-spun cotton is should be done slowly to prevent mistakes.
Process of making batik
The process of making batik is an intense labor craft. In the old days, people use the natural plant for coloring but to make things easier, there is also batik that uses chemical dye. Modern batik artists often use different and more elaborate methods of batik making such as to incorporate technique, stencils, etching, and many more. They also often use different types of fabrics for batiks such as silk, cotton, leather, wool, paper, and many more.
In general, the process of making batik starts with dying the cloth using dyed hot wax. Dying fabrics is not a difficult process but it does require a great deal of patience so that the fabrics become tedious. The first step starts with ‘blocking out’ some areas of the fabrics with hot wax or brush. Then the remaining areas will be dyed specifically based on the pattern. The area cover with wax will resist the dye, so it will remain in its original color. The process of blocking with wax and using a different color of the dye will be repeated several times until it reaches the desired pattern. After all, steps are finished; the wax will be removed from the fabrics by washing it several times. Then, you can see the result of simply breathtaking batik.
Incorporate batik in artwork
Even though batik is considered as wearable art, but it does not mean that batik cannot be involved in other artwork. Many artists incorporate batik in their artwork and display it in the art gallery. Many of them use batik making methods to create art and pictures on canvas and incorporate new techniques and patterns. The application of batik keeps expanding since the Western world includes batik motifs and techniques in more cultural and artistic venues.
Today, batik has become a personal taste, from expensive silk sarong with traditional motifs to casual day wear with pop-art styling and tie-dye technique. The application of batik does not limit only for daily wear but also artwork. Many artists incorporate batik in their artwork using unique techniques.
Batik Gallery Business
The potential for batik gallery is endless. Batik, which is the identity of Indonesia, is a cultural heritage that must be preserved. Moreover, the government has ratified batik days throughout Indonesia to maintain and develop Indonesian batik. Of course, this is a promising opportunity for you to get into the batik gallery. Even now, the world is starting to give more appreciation to this original motherland product.
With the development of the times, batik models are now increasingly diverse. The batik model is no longer the same. There is batik which is combined with other materials such as leather and other materials. Here are some tips that you can consider starting a batik gallery.
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Creative
The first tip for doing batik gallery in the midst of this fierce competition is to make your own model. The difference in products sold is something that is absolutely necessary so that your business can be glimpsed by consumers in the midst of many similar businesses. Besides being creative, you also have to understand the batik products that you are selling.
In Indonesia itself, there are many batik creations from various regions. Also understand the various batik creations so that you know where the gaps in batik creativity that you can fill. By understanding various creations you will also find it easy to explain to consumers what the creativity of your batik products is.
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Keep Innovating
Continue to innovate on your batik products, batik products are a combination of elements of cultural tradition, art and creativity. Make innovations in both the motifs and the batik clothing models. Don’t just follow market trends, but create your own characteristics so that people are looking for your product.
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Understand the Types of Batik
Before you start a batik gallery, you should first understand the type of batik that will be used. There are so many types of batik in Indonesia, and each type has its own meaning.
It’s good for you to know about the batik motifs that you will use in your business. Because, this will make it easy for you to explain to consumers and can make consumers more confident and interested in the batik gallery that you are running.
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Define Your Target Customers
This should always be done in any business, so that you as a producer know exactly what you have to do with your batik gallery.
Therefore, you must first determine the target market so that it is more focused when carrying out promotional and marketing programs. The better the quality and design, the higher the selling price.
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Pay attention to the quality of the goods
It is important for your batik gallery to find a reliable supplier whose prices are in accordance with the best quality of goods. This is very influential on your consumer confidence.
Batik enthusiasts come from abroad . Therefore, it is a great opportunity to market your batik gallery to foreign countries.
In order for that to happen, it is mandatory for you to improve product quality and not stop to develop your batik gallery.
Should I Join a Batik Gallery in the Area?
Around the world you will find galleries specializing in the topic of batik. Batik itself is a form of cultural heritage in the form of handcrafted patterned fabric. The patterns hold certain philosophical values and thus should not be treated callously. When you are wearing certain batik design, you are trying to convey a meaning. Such tradition draws people into the art of batik. This culture is beautiful, purposeful, complicated, and requires high level of mastery. You should not be surprised that batik galleries tend to attract many people to join in, not only in its origin countries.
Should you join a batik gallery in your area?
If you are interested in this art, then the answer is: sure. Such galleries form tight knitted communities of likeminded individuals. You will be able to talk about batik with these people who are not only passionate, but also knowledgeable about it. As stated previously, batik symbolizes certain meaning and wearing them incorrectly (e.g.: inappropriate to the situation) is frowned upon in its original culture. Being well-informed about batik can help you avoid this kind of mistake.
Being involved in batik gallery also supports you in developing skills as batik artist. The gallery is often equipped with tools and materials that are necessary in creating batik. It is a great place to learn varied https://165.22.99.18 techniques of batik making from across regions such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Africa, et cetera. You do not only get the chance of reading or observing the techniques, but also applying them in real situation. There is no a requirement to be an expert batik artist to join the gallery, though. You have a long time to practice the craft.
Batik gallery is also a perfect place for scholars to gain new knowledge. Such gallery often holds informative events such as lectures, workshops, and discussions for its members. The scholars are not only limited to those who study fashion design or fashion history. Historians and anthropologists, particularly who focus on the regions where batik was originated, would be interested in learning more of this art. The gallery also acts like a center that promotes this art form to people who probably have never heard of it.
To join a batik gallery in your area
you will have to pay for membership fee. Usually, the amount is not too significant especially if compared with things that you will get in return: knowledge, skill development, and chances of networking. The money that you pay is mostly used to maintain the gallery. This type of gallery really relies on the contribution of its member, not only in material sense but also intellectually. You can help but continuously improving yourself and participating in activities held by the gallery.
Batik galleries are available widely in the regions where the art was first introduced. However, due to its beauty, it has successfully developed solid fan bases.
Tips On Choosing Right Batik Dress To Look Elegant and Stylish
Batik is a traditional Indonesian fabric that is now famous all over the world. Now, along with the changing times, batik no longer looks old-fashioned and outdated. As evidence now you can see a gallery of batik not only in traditional markets, but already in the big shopping malls and modern shopping centers.
Not only in Indonesia
batik gallery is now also found in various places across the globe. In other words, the proliferation of batik galleries shows that Indonesian traditional fabrics have been recognized by the world community. Anyway in this batik gallery you can buy a variety of batik with a variety of models and styles.
Don’t imagine that you only see cloth or sarong in this batik gallery. Many Indonesian designers have used batik as part of their masterpieces. That’s why you can find variations in batik designs ranging from shirts, skirts, outers, dresses and even gowns in batik galleries in well-known shopping centers.
It is undeniable that dress is one of the most popular types of clothing for women, every time they visit a batik gallery.
This is because the dresses sold in this batik gallery usually have a captivating design that not only looks elegant but also stylish and trendy. A mix of beautiful traditional batik cloth motifs, met with modern dress designs, makes this type of clothing selling well by buyers.
The dresses that you find in the batik
gallery are available in various motifs and designs. You only need to choose the one that suits your budget and also your taste. But ladies, apparently choosing your own batik dress has tips and tricks.
To get a quality batik dress that won’t make you regret buying it, try these tips, ladies!
- Select batik dress that suits your body shape
The number of dresses available in the batik gallery may make you fascinated and want to buy them all. But it’s better if you don’t go crazy before choosing this batik dress. For women, adjusting the dress design to the shape of the body is very important. This is the first step that can make your appearance to be attractive and pleasing to the eye. Therefore, the selection of size and shape needs to be considered. Likewise with the batik dress pattern that you will choose. Because there are several patterns that can make your body look slimmer or even make you look fatter than your actual body size.
- Choose a dress made from batik cloth that is comfortable to wear
What distinguishes the quality of a batik is the material for making batik, which consists of the fabric and the batik method. The fabric for batik varies from silk to ordinary cotton. Silk is the choice of quality materials to make high end class batik. Silk is indeed more comfortable to wear but the price is usually higher than ordinary materials. For informal or casual events, it is advisable to wear that a batik dress made of cotton Meanwhile, to go to a party, you can choose a chiffon or silk batik dress that looks more classy and elegant.
Unique, Stylish, and Minimalist Way to Decorate a Room with Batik
Batik, one of Indonesia’s most delicate heritage masterpieces, is now gaining fame as a room decoration. A batik-gallery-alike decoration is well known to make a room luxurious and cushier. But as batik has lots of motifs and colors, how can we make a room with batik decoration stylish yet minimalist?
Get to Know Batik’s Surface
First of all, you might want to get batik with good motifs that reflect your personality. Batik does have philosophical meaning in each motif, therefore you might want to do some research and find one that suits you. For instance, we will talk about decorating the room with the Parang Rusak in white and brown motifs of Batik in Indonesia.
To be noted before purchasing batik
a high-quality batik is handmade, while a low quality is printed on fabric. Not only high quality, but a hand made batik is also authentic and supports local business better than printed batik that you can purchase anywhere outside Indonesia. Therefore, make sure you are purchasing a handmade authentic batik for more value and better quality.
How to Style a Room into Batik Gallery-Alike
To make your room look like a gallery, decorate your wall using a Parang Rusak motif, as a wallpaper fabric. Just like the mandala sarong, lay them to a wall, or hang like a curtain, and you are pretty good to go with the first step.
If you want a batik as a curtain, pick one with white background and darker motif color. Because they will let sunshine lightly through to your room. But will not cast shadows of what is in your room as the darker motifs will obscure the view. In other words, it is healthier but still safer.
Not only as wallpaper or curtain, but a better batik gallery alike for a room can also be pursued using authentic decorated sleeping lamps. To have one with a certain batik motif, such as Parang Rusak, you have to order it for local people. Because things like this should be delicately made and limited produced. Well, not only it is beautiful, it is authentic, and around millions of people, it is only you who have them!
Aside from those three options
the other options people like to decorate their room is to decorate the clock with batik fabric. Easily, you can purchase a clock with a batik motif on local shops. Or just wrap the clock with batik all by yourself. Even the second option is not hard to do, since you will only need the batik fabric, some scissors, glue, and few sewing accessories.
The last but not least way people are decorating their room with batik is to buy personal accessories. Such as a purse or handbag with batik motifs and just place them inside of the glass cabinet. Not only will the stuff last longer, but it also makes your room look almost literally like a batik gallery. Stunning!
Visit 5 of the Most Famous Batik
Every 2nd of October is celebrated as the National Batik Day in Indonesia. This was truly once an extraordinary struggle of the Indonesian country in the past. Since 2009, batik has been designated by UNESCO as one of the Masterpieces in terms of the Intangible Humanitarian Heritage. It took 3 years until batik was finally recognized after 6 representatives of countries that are members of UNESCO conducted an assessment and verification.
For that reason, let’s keep the popularity and existence of this typical Indonesian fabric by visiting the famous batik gallery in Indonesia. Not only popular, some of these galleries have original and beautiful batik collections you might want to have for your own collection at home. Therefore, 5 of the famous batik galleries in Indonesia:
Batik Seno (Yogyakarta)
For more than 30 years in the world of Indonesian batik, Seno Batik Gallery has successfully gained popularity. Not only that the price of its batik is cheap, you get to learn how to make batik from scratch and also get to see the batik process itself. The place is spacious and has various contents. Such as batik cloth, batik clothes, souvenirs, and the most unique item is batik painting.
House of Danar Hadi (Surakarta, Central Java)
The House of Danar Hadi was inaugurated by the Minister of Tourism and Culture in August of 2008 and has become one of the tourism destinations in Surakarta. Starting from a small home-based industry, the Danar Hadi Batik brand has undergone many adjustments to adapt to the idealism of batik in the modern industry. Danar Hadi Gallery has hundreds of batik collections, ranging from classic to contemporary styles.
Iwan Tirta Gallery Collection (Jakarta)
As an artist, Iwan Tirta has dedicated his life to introducing batik not only in Indonesia, but to the rest of the world as well. He is a well-known batik maestro who is renowned for his batik collections, beautiful fabric designs, and magnificent fashion shows. In fact, Iwan Tirta is also known to have designed more than ten thousand batik designs during his lifetime.
Batik Jawa Gallery (Yogyakarta)
At Batik Jawa, their batik collections are stunning and natural. Uniquely, their batik here uses natural dyes mostly blue colored ones from the indigofera leaves. In order to produce this blue color, a cloth needs to be dyed dozens of times with natural dyes.
Murni Batik Gallery (Madiun, East Java)
Murni Batik Madiun is not only a gallery of clothing or batik clothes. Here they provide batik training for students, agencies or institutions for at least 5 individuals per session. Some of Murni Madiun batik characteristics. So that it can always be used as a souvenir, include Seger Arum Motif, Lotus Motif, Basil Leaf Motif, and many more.
Apart from the 5 batik galleries mentioned above, there are many other great galleries that are widespread in Indonesia. Hence, today’s batik designs are indeed very fashionable and universal. Because of these famous batik galleries that have successfully sold batik images throughout Indonesia and abroad.