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Capturing The Soul in Wax and Dye
In conversation with a master Indonesian batik painter
“Pucuk rebung is a bamboo baby. Bamboo, from small to big, is used in everything we do, like making a house, a place to eat, a hat to protect the head. If it’s still young, it can still be eaten. So all parts of bamboo can be used. That’s why I like bamboo motifs.”
~Naldi, a Sumatran batik painter
Naldi and I first met at a batik painting workshop in Bukit Lawang, a small village at the edge of the Sumatran jungle. I watched him unpack his tools: royal blue mats, a rusted carving knife, blocks of beeswax, spouted brass basins attached to wooden dowels, electric heating bowls, bundles of fabric, and sketching tools. His focus was as quiet as it was intense while he shaved thin strips from the wax brick.
Under his guidance, our group of batik initiates got to work, pencilling in letters and shapes and dripping hot wax atop our sketches. The wax blistered our fingertips, and Naldi smiled with the same warm amusement a teacher carries when their students are taking the first steps into a new skill. He corrected our work, showing us where our wax lines were too thin, and he grinned when we thrust our sloppy designs into his hands.
