Contemporary American Batik

In the piece above, "The Quest for Comfort", the batik process is done on newspaper. The process is as follows: I start by first neutralizing the acids in the paper to prevent any yellowing or cracking in the future. I then sketch the piece as I would  a traditional batik. From there, I wax the backfield of the piece (the area now covered by purple dots), thus segregating workable areas (the arrows). Once done, I do a direct application of dye to the unwaxed areas (the arrows), working light to dark. Once all the dye work is done, I wax the entire piece, and follow by ironing the wax into the piece. Some measure of wax remains in the piece, and causes the paper to become transparent, revealing the print from the reverse side. I then painted acrylics on the surface (the purple dots), and finish with a UV coating. The piece was then mounted using conservation quality materials, including UV protected glass.
This piece happens to be done on the real estate section, while others have been on topics ranging from war and jobs to entertainment and religion. Sometimes the piece is simply a response to the graphic nature of the paper's layout. In either case, the outcome is the result of my interaction with an ever evolving process that I am more than happy to explore and develop. 

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