Master Wan Batik

The humbled batik art is now being taught at colleges overseas.

BATIK may not be the most popular fabric choice due to its stereotypical latticework prints and tacky colour combinations (think brown and indigo or orange and blue).

However, the humble cloth is fast gaining popularity overseas with British folk flocking to colleges that offer batik making classes.

In Britain, examining and accreditation body City and Guilds of London Institute...

Batik offers versatility and endless possibilities, so much so that even seaweed and mud can be used to produce it.

AMERICAN artist Olivia Batchelder’s love affair with batik goes back a long way. She had tried it in college, but never knew of the “array of exquisite designs” available in Asia until she came to Malaysia in 2005 to study wax batik as artist resident student in Atelier Sarawak in Kuching.

It all began when she met architect-designer Edric Ong...

EVERY Thursday is supposed to be batik day for civil servants, but on many occasions when I visited government departments on a Thursday, I found many civil servants not adhering to this guideline, particularly senior officials.

When I enquired the reason for the non-observance of this directive, I was informed by some of my civil servant friends that wearing batik makes them look casual and not professional.

If this is the viewpoint of some civil servants, then I...

Pernah suatu ketika mereka yang meggayakannya juga digelar 'Mat Belia' yang mempromosikan kerja-kerja membabitkan aktiviti kemasyarakatan. Pendek kata, ketika itu batik tidak mempnyai nilal komersial apatah lagi sentuhan glamor bagi yang memakainya.

Namun berkat usaha isteri Perdana Menteri, Allahyarham Datin Seri Endon Mahmood, banyak mata mulal celik dengan keindahan batik seterusnya martabat motif tradisional ini diangkat tahap lebih...