Batik painting workshop keeps batik art alive

KUALA LUMPUR: A husbandand-wife team from Teja Art & Crafts is providing a rare opportunity to members of the public, especially the younger generation, to produce batik paintings on fabric using candle wax and dye.

Muhammad Hafiz Sulaiman, 33 and Aida Batrisyia Azliman, 26, run a batik painting workshop at the Malaysian Tourism Centre (MaTiC) to teach batik art to the masses.

Muhammad Hafiz, who has more than six years experience in the batik industry, believes that the effort can encourage the public, especially the younger generation, to better appreciate Malaysian batik art.

He said their batik workshop at MaTiC is also open to tourists visiting Kuala Lumpur where they can learn to make their batik fabric.

“An added value that visitors can get from this workshop is that we also share knowledge about Malaysian batik, teach them the manufacturing process, explain the designs and they can take the finished product home,” he said when met by Bernama.

The Telok Mas, Melaka lad said visitors are also provided with a batik kit containing various patterns and motifs such as flora and fauna, scenery, animation characters and skyscrapers as well as batik painting tools such as tjanting knife pens, brushes and palettes that they can use to create their choice of batik art.

According to Muhammad Hafiz, the batik kit comes in various sizes and is priced at between RM30 and RM70 which visitors can take home after the workshop.

He said visitors can book a spot to join the workshop via Teja Art & Crafts social media accounts in advance as the space provided at MaTiC can only accommodate 15 people per session with each session taking between one to two hours.

He said visitors will be guided through the process of batik painting such as ensuring that the candle wax has the correct temperature to produce a clear design, adding that normally after going through the process, participants will appreciate the art even more.

“I think to colour on fabric is satisfying and therapeutic for adults when they see water and colours permeate the fabric while children will be excited and amazed by the process,” he said.

Muhammad Hafiz also paints on tote bags and labu sayong (water gourd) as well as produces tie-dye shirts.

According to Muhammad Hafiz, usually, around 30 to 50 visitors will join their workshop which opens from 11 am until 5 pm during weekends, comprising mostly young city dwellers.