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I grew up on a farm in north central Iowa and attended Iowa State University at Ames. A fabric surface design class introduced me to batik and sparked a life-long interest in designing and creating fun batik art. After graduating in 1972, I moved through several jobs and homes before ending up in Minnesota in 1975. I started to batik again in 1978, a year after my son was born. My first works were wall hangings and by 1984, I had added clothing to my artwork. In 1981, I exhibited at my first art fair and since then, I have attended many midwest art festivals.
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I begin the batik process with white ready-to-wear garments. Each is individually waxed and dyed by me. Batik, an Indonesian word meaning "wax writing" is a resist technique. Melted beeswax is applied to the fabric's surface with a natural bristle brush or a tjanting tool. When immersed into a dyebath, the waxed areas repel the dye. The fabric is air dried after each dyeing, waxed to hold that color and dyed again the next darker color. This process is repeated, dyeing from light to dark, until all colors are achieved. Wax is removed by a hot water process or dry cleaning. The characteristic "crackle" of Batik results when the surface of the waxed area develops cracks that allow dye to seep in.
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