Compose two styles
Rather than blending two styles into a middle, this assigns them roles: one carries the structure, the other appears as an accent. Where the two fight, it says so before you start.
How to divide the work
- Composition
- Follow Batik: Divide the whole cloth into pattern units, change rank at the border
- Type
- Set in Batik's manner (Any lettering follows the pattern grid and never breaks the repeat), and let Shibori's lettering (Choose heavier letterforms that survive the unevenness of handwork.) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Batik's material (Wax resist, then layered indigo and brown, washed keeping the crackle); bring in exactly one thing from Shibori (Resist the dye by binding and pressure, and allow the dye to bleed.).
- Colour
- Build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 and admit one accent from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615.
Where they fight
- Both belong to Textile Traditions, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable.
- Two techniques rather than two looks. Decide which one runs last in the process, because that is the one that will show.
Caution
- Batik Using the patterns as decoration detached from meaning ignores who may wear them and on what occasion, which turns the cloth discourteous.
- Shibori Reproducing the pattern in print makes it another thing entirely. The bleed and the unevenness are the record of the technique.
Image prompt
An original image that takes its structure from Batik (Technique, traditional–present) and its accent from Shibori (Technique, 8th century–). Structural cues: Crackle of the wax resist; The canting's line; Layered indigo and soga brown; A semantic pattern system. Accent cues, used sparingly: The bled white left by binding; Regular grain from stitch resist; Geometric ground patterns from board clamping; A texture that keeps the relief of the cloth. Composition: Divide the whole cloth into pattern units, change rank at the border. Type and lettering: Any lettering follows the pattern grid and never breaks the repeat. Let one material quality come from the second style: Resist the dye by binding and pressure, and allow the dye to bleed.. Mood: Luxury, Intimacy, Calm, Nostalgia, Technology. Color: build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 with a single accent drawn from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615. Constraints: do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. Produce an original composition in the general period languages described above.
Related entries
- Batik traditional–present / Technique / Textile Traditions
Javanese cloth resisted with wax and dyed over and over again. The line drawn by the canting builds a pattern system that also speaks of rank, region and rite.
- Shibori 8th century– / Technique / Textile Traditions
A technique in which cloth is stitched, bound or clamped between boards before dyeing, so that only the parts under pressure stay white. The result is left to the strength of the craftsman's hands and the movement of the cloth, and no two pieces come out alike even from the same pattern.
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