The
more layers of dye, the deeper the saturation of color, the heavier the
silk, the more dyes you can apply. Starting with the lightest areas
first or those areas that need to remain white, I begin to
paint in sections, layering dyes and wax.
My
painting process is tedious and I would not recommend it to anyone.
It developed over years of experimenting with moving the dyes back
and forth. Picking up the dyes that have already dried by painting
with a mixture of water and rubbing alcohol over the painted areas,
moving them again and again, always waiting until each layer is dry
before adding more dyes.
Similar to watercolor painting this is an unforgiving medium. Once your mark is made you can not paint over it unless you use a darker color.
 In
the photo above, you can see I have finished painting the design of flowers and leaves and the bees wax has been painted around those areas using a special Japanese brush called roketsu-fude. Once the design has been preserved with wax the background is ready to be painted. Medium: French Dupont Dyes, Heavy Charmeuse Silk using a Bees Wax Resist
| Resist dyeing on cloth has been dated back to the 2nd Century A.D.. Japanese have a history of rozome dating back to the seventh and eighth centuries when it was called by its ancient name rokechi, stamped wax on fabric. Wax resist textiles have come to be known around the world by the Javanese word, Batik, meaning to stamp on hot wax. Resist-dyed silk dated back to the mid-eighth century can be found in the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum, New Delhi, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Pure Bees Wax
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