Learn Batik with Cinderella

How Cinderella Was Able to Go to the Ball by Jessie Marion King

Jessie Marion King, a versatile and very successful designer from the first half of the 20th century, created a brochure about the then-new (for most Europeans, anyway) coloring technique. The technique is mostly used for coloring textiles and is called batik. Batik is also the name of the end product – a textile colored by this technique.

There are several different variations of batik based on the same principle. Wax is used to cover part of the material. Then everything is dyed. Color will apply only to the parts without wax.

After that, the wax is removed (in most cases by boiling water) some kind of pattern is already visible. The process can be repeated several times to create sometimes very complex patterns. The final result can look quite spectacular.

Jessie Marion King was introduced to batik while she was living in Paris from 1910 to 1913. She took the newly acquired knowledge to Scotland and spread it among artists and other creative people who had shown interest. One of the ways to pass your knowledge around is presented right here, with an instructional booklet, where the classic tale of Cinderella is used as a reason to start with batik.

Let’s go through the brochure, written and illustrated by Jessie M. King.

There’s a Midsummer Eve dance. We have three sisters who want to go. Unfortunately, there are only two appropriate dresses. None of them fits Cinderella. She stays at home.

Fortunately, a box of old stuff is in the attic. Cinderella’s fairy godmother left it when she moved to Java years ago.

But the fairy mother suddenly appears in front of Cinderella and offers a solution to her problem. They find an old white loose dress that could serve as a base. But it needs to be enlivened by some color.

Cinderella is sent to the garden for bee wax and onions. The fairy godmother in the meantime picks some flowers. They will serve as shapes of the pattern. Almost everything in nature can be used as an inspiration or tool for batik.

Now, the waxing and coloring phase follows. This is the most creative part of batik. It can be very time-consuming as well. If you don’t have a fairy mother to help, practice is the best recipe for success.

Just a few of many batik tips:

• different paints can be used in batik (acrylic, fabric, poster, textile, …), but each one of them requires specific handling during the process and maintenance,

• adding some white vinegar to washing water can (not always, depending on several conditions, especially the type of dye) prevent loss of color intensity,

• cold water dyes are more suitable for dyeing because hot water can remove wax and ruin the pattern,

• sometimes a fixer is needed to keep the dye in proper condition on the textile (a classic example is the addition of soda to water),

• if you use more than one color, the process of waxing, washing, and removing wax can be repeated for each paint (the best practice is to start with the paint of the lightest color and gradually proceed to the darkest).

Now Cinderella’s gown is ready. It’s a saffron yellow color with a white flowery pattern, perfectly matching the orange shades of her hair and the gentle white tan of her skin.

The end of the story is followed by a few examples of batik dresses created by Jessi M. King.

Vibrant colors with flowery patterns are used.

Geometrical shapes are another popular element in batik.

The same pattern can be variated and expanded in many different ways.

A spread of two facing pages with Jessie’s illustration from the story of Queen Guenever is presented in black and white. Yes, this illustration was done in batik technique.

The final image is a simple visual list with essential batik tools. Don’t forget your patience!

If you like this presentation of batik, just start your very own project. Let us know in the comments how you did!

And share this article with your friends:)

Vintage Playing Cards

Are you interested in vintage playing cards? I was not until … Well, first things first.

I recently found out about an interesting artist who worked in several fields of art. He was a musician, translator, designer, and painter. He illustrated more than a dozen books, including the one, where my research started:

La Fontaine Fables

I wanted to learn more about Frederick Colin Tilney’s life but managed to find only a few words about his education. Way more interesting was to find out he also created a deck of playing cards with characters from Shakespeare’s plays for the so-called face cards or court cards (Kings, Queens, and Jacks).

The first edition of Tilney’s Shakespearean playing cards was published in London by Swan Sonnenschein & Co Ltd. and printed by Bemrose & Sons Ltd. in 1904.

The set of cards presented here was republished by John Waddington Ltd. in 1932 and is pretty popular among collectors. Cards were regularly reprinted and when another company took over John Waddington Ltd, they kept these cards in the program with some modifications with packing and occasional additions like pocket calendars.

Anyway, Tilney didn’t just randomly choose characters from the plays, but he used the symbolism of each suit according to the characteristics of the portrayed characters. The heart, for example, is more related to emotions, the diamond to greed, the club to violence, … Each card also brings a typical quote from the play, said by the portrayed character, which can be also applicable among card players.

So if you have a friend who loves Shakespeare, you can give him or her a gift with King Lear or Lady Macbeth in slightly different roles. And there is a Joker too!

Great stuff, isn’t it?

If you are in the mood to explore more vintage cards, I have found another attractive page, this time with vintage tarock cards.

See ya!