Crackles are the fine veins that may or may not be colored; It runs through the outlines or certain areas of the design in a piece of batik. It was once considered a sign of inferior batik in the old days, especially on indigo colored batik but is acceptable on brown batik. However, it has developed into a much appreciated characteristic associated with handmade batik.
This special effect is rendered by folding, crushing, solidifying, or using any method that breaks up an area or outline of unbroken powdered wax in a design. This happens before the fabric has been put into the final dye bath. By doing so, the crackle synonymous with handmade batik is produced.
A mixture of wax is the heart of this effect. They usually consist of beeswax and paraffin. Beeswax is malleable, and thus works by regulating flow; And paraffin for its fragility. Paraffin is never used on its own, as it does not adhere well to fabric. Besides, the key is to control the amount of paraffin in order to achieve the amount of veins the artist would like to have. The more paraffin is used, the more cracks will appear, and vice versa. Traditionally, resins such as pine distillate residue (known as gondorukem in Malay) and cat’s eye resin (damar mata kucing) were used to increase the ability of the wax mixture to adhere to the canvas. Animal fats such as tallow are also added to dissolve the solution.
Some artists may prefer to use microcrystalline wax (microcrystalline wax) as a substitute for beeswax or even add it to the mixture. Although both microwax and paraffin are byproducts of crude oil distillation, microwax is darker, stickier, and denser than paraffin. It is also more flexible, making it a suitable choice to replace beeswax.
A recent trend has emerged where soy wax is used instead of the traditional beeswax and paraffin. It attracts artists for the following reasons:
Low heat point (130°-150°F / 54°-66°C) which reduces the risk of burns.
It burns clean and therefore does not emit toxic fumes.
Because of its low heat point, it is washed with hot water or warm water and synthrapol, thus eliminating one of the most tedious steps in batik making.
A crackle effect can be created without the need for a wax mixture.
How is this effect achieved?
- A mixture of wax, usually beeswax and paraffin. Melt it in a crock pot or other wax melter.
- Dyes (in this case, using powdered dyes) are prepared for the following process; With sodium alginate to improve viscosity and soda ash to make the color more permanent.
- Each color of pigment powder is placed in separate containers and then mixed with hot water.
- The fabric is stretched on a board and the design is drawn using a pencil or frixion pen as shown in the picture. This pen uses a type of heat-sensitive ink that will disappear on contact with heat.
- The areas that remain white are cleaned with melted wax. Then the image is colored with the prepared dyes. The dye must be completely dried before taking the next step.
- Wax is brushed over the areas where the colors need to be preserved. In the photo, the dark spots are areas that are not waxed.
- Wipe the cloth to break up the wax.
- The cloth is then immersed in the black dye bath.
- Using an old iron, the fabric is ironed between sheets of newspaper to remove the wax. Newspaper sheets should be replaced frequently.
- It was completed!