Sandi Churness

churness43@gmail.com

Thirty years ago, in a basement in Minneapolis, friends taught me how to batik. What a gift they gave me! I loved the process and results then...and still do after all these years and hundreds of batiks! Batik is an Indonesian word meaning "wax writing".

t starts with a sketch on cotton fabric. Melted bees wax and paraffin are painted on the areas of the design that are to be white. It is then dipped into the lightest color dye. After drying, the areas to be that color are waxed. This process is repeated until all the colors are dyed and waxed. To remove the wax, the batik is placed between papers and ironed.

I have no formal art training, but am inspired by patterns and designs I see in nature, so most of my subjects are animals, flowers, trees and landscapes. I love the surprise factor in batik, how the fabric texture, waxing technique, combination of dyes combine to create a unique piece every time.