1. A Cool Secondary Level Project Intended for “Art Majors” As well as The Rest of The Student Population !

2.  John Ruskin once said, “Unless you provide some elements of beauty for your workmen to be surrounded by, you will find that no elements of beauty can be invented by them.”  Then William Morris continued, “…every man’s house will be fair and decent, soothing to his mind and helpful to his work: all the works of man that we live amongst and handle will be in harmony with nature, will be reasonable and beautiful…”  Finally Morris summed it up with his Golden Rule: “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”

5.  Batik is a wax-resist method of dyeing fabric that has existed for 2000 years in parts of Asia and Africa.  The islands of Java and Bali (Indonesia) have produced the most historically significant and advanced batik work.  Batik spread to Europe through trade routes in the 1700’s – becoming very popular during the later 1800’s  Traditional batik uses a tool called a “tjanting” while modern day batik uses a “cap” to create repetitive designs  Methods: Whole cloth dyeing vs localized dyeing

8.  Batik fabric can be made into functional objects that teens will actually use and cherish.  Students associate Batik with the 1960’s and 70’s, a cool association!  Batik lends itself to the study of the Elements and Principles of Design as well as many other Standards  Batik is easily modified for all skill and ability levels, from SPED to AP

9.  Standard 1: Media, Materials, Techniques  Standard 2: Elements and Principles of Design  Standard 4: Drafting, Revising, and Exhibiting  Standard 5: Critical Response  Standard 6: Purposes of the Arts  Standard 8: Concepts of Style & Stylistic Influence  Standard 10: Interdisciplinary Connections

10. Honors level work intended to fulfill a “breadth” requirement for the AP portfolio. Approximate size 18X24

11. Functional Decorative Arts: pillows, pomanders, pocketbooks, and pouches. Each project involves batik, beadwork and sewing.

12. Batik pillows and quilts created in a cooperative special education setting. Students’ special needs included: blindness, motor skill deficiencies, behavioral and emotional disorders, and significant cognitive disabilities Modifications included: “batik magic” to replace hot wax, simplified designs, larger tools, and additional assistance from peers mentors.

13. BOOKS (in order of usefulness): Batik for Artists and Quilters. Eloise Piper. Hand Books Press, 2001 Batik: Widening the Perspective with Textile, Paper, and Wood. Noel Dyrenforth. Batsford, B.T., Ltd, 2003 Batik - Drawn in Wax. I. Van Hout (ed.). Koninklijk Instituut, 2001 WEBSITES: www.batikguild.org.ukwww.batikfineart.com www.dharmatrading.com MATERIALS and SUPPLIES: Dharma Trading Sax Arts and Crafts Dick Blick