My Batik

The bomb attack in Kuta had a great influence on my thinking and that is why I went to Java in order to overcome my troubles I had in Bali. It was during that time I lost my mother as well as my restaurant in Sanur. I started to take a course in handwork batik, not stamp or print, but the traditional “resist dye” method, with the so called “canting” to draw and cover silk or cotton.

Why did I choose batik?

As long as I can remember, as a little girl, I saw how my mother made the “ritual of the burning root “, which gave the specific scent to the batik. My mother sold and collected batik also. Sometimes she took me for “hunting” batiks too.

The basics I learned from the course, but the real making of batik, the way I do it now, took many books and articles to read before getting to the core of batik making.

During some 8 months I traveled to many villages, known for their batik culture, and during that period I really learned how to approach batik an make it as well. Later I found out, that the people in Java know how to produce batik, but most of them don’t really know how to appreciate it.

As for the Balinese people; they appreciate batik very much, but they don’t have the skill to produce.

From that point of view I started to develop my own style, with the aid of two students from ISI in Denpasar who supported me with designing.

Working from tradition I developed my own way; more freedom in design but still mixed with traditional style. Because of the popularity for Bali among western tourists, some influence from Europe is visible in my design too.

`Batik Wong Bali`, literally: “batik of the Balinese people”, was founded in 2005, from an idea, a hope and a dream that one day Balinese can make their own batik with their own style.