Yellow-Green Scarf

Batik is a lengthy process of applying melted wax to cloth fabric made of natural fibers, and dying it multiple times. For this batik, the wax was first applied to the white cloth and then dyed yellow; next it was applied to the dry yellow fabric and finally dyed green. As you can see, the colors progressed from lightest to darkest, and, since dyes are transparent, often the colors show through and affect the ones dyed over them. At this point, the fabric is pretty much covered in wax, and to remove it, I iron it between layers of newsprint to absorb and remove the wax. To remove the wax completely, the fabric needs to be boiled in water. I don't always do that . . . only if the fabric will be used as clothing such as this scarf.  You will notice fine lines across the lighter colors; this is due to the wax cracking and the darker colors seeping through the cracks. That is how you can tell if it is a true batik work of art.  This Batik is unframed.