Batik Class, Jakarta

So today was my second day in Jakarta visiting my parents! I'll be here for a little over a month. We'll be going to Singapore, and when my sister and her boyfriend join us, we're all going to Bali and other parts of Indonesia. This week we're taking it easy.

Today my mom and I visited the Musim Tekstil in Jakarta, which showcased some amazing batik. Batik is the traditional fabric of Indonesia, decorated using wax and dye. Different motifs and colors hold different social implications/regional significance. Unfortunately, there were no captions detailing any of the pieces (I would have liked to know more about the different methods used), and some areas were terribly lit. We whizzed through the main section of the museum in a mere ten minutes, the second in probably fifteen-twenty. My mom said it's funny how so much money is put into shopping malls but not the museums. Cool experience either way.

The museum offers batik classes, which we, of course, hopped on. The class cost less than $10 for the two of us combined! Amazing.

The workshop was this nice naturally lit, sort of open air room. We first chose our motifs from a pile of probably forty. I had feared having to BS my own batik design, you know, just because I wanted to focus more on understanding the method. We then traced the design with pencil onto a white cotton square. The pencil lines disappear by the end of the whole process.

We put our squares into embroidery hoops and sat down to trace back over our lines with a tjanting, a wooden handled tool with a tiny metal cup with a tiny spout, out of which the wax seeps. My mom and I both spilled a few drops of wax on the fabric. I also spilled wax from the tjanting onto my hand twice (I'm not talking a few drops), and dude...it kind of killed. The girl helping us/our instructor gave me what I am guessing was some aloe vera gel. Spilling must not be uncommon.

We traced our designs with the wax on both the front and back (something I found annoying because it's hard to tell what parts you have and have not gone over on the back). Batik is a wax resist dyeing technique, which means all parts not covered with wax get dyed.

Shit is tedious!

Tjantings.

Our instructor painted wax around the edges of our squares. After it dried, she cracked the wax with her hands. You'll see why later, though I'm sure you can guess.

We didn't have to get our hands dirty with dyeing. Not that the first part wasn't messy enough. It didn't take long for the dye to take.

My mom's piece. Our instructor suggested we write our names on the side. Easier said than done, my friend.

Haha, see the drips? Anyway, I thought the cracked wax came out awesome!

So it turns out that batik is a headache-inducing craft that demands patience and fine attention to detail (both of which I apparently lack), but if you take your time, you can come up with something quite beautiful (which I didn't). Not sure if I'll be filling up a tjanting with hot wax any time soon, but this experience has opened my mind to wax resist dyeing techniques... The wax-cracking thing seems manageable.

Que Sera Sarong...?: Fashion in Indonesia

I wrote this while I was in Bali a few weeks ago. Yikes, no pictures!

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I wasn't sure how the fashion in Jakarta would be. Before arriving, I looked up several Indonesian fashion blogs for an idea of how younger Indonesians dress and wasn't very impressed with my findings. Looked like some uninteresting outfits made to look stylish with some skinny jeans and mid-height heels, maybe a hat. A bit underdeveloped, a bit behind. After being here, this has turned out to be true; Jakarta certainly isn't brimming with unique personal style. I've noticed few "fashion-conscious" people, and I've actually drawn the most inspiration from those in traditional Indonesian or Balinese clothing. The typical men's look of a sarong with sandals and a cap (not sure what the proper name for it is) is pretty no-fail, and I've seen unexpected color and print pairings (traditional batik + plaid/checkered pieces). I was first inspired upon visiting Alun Alun Indonesia (in Grand Indonesia mall), which offers many interesting Indonesian designers. Indonesia, of course, offers a multitude of hand-painted Batik fabrics (looked like Suno had thrown up in there). Print-centric, colorful clothing isn't my style, however, and though I appreciate the fascinating craft (definitely plan to take a batik lesson next time I'm here), I tried to look past the prints to get down to the bare bones of the designs, and I actually did find some great designs elements that I could really relate to. One designer in particular, Carmanita, used some interesting details. Some of the non-Batik pieces were beautiful, and I loved many of the silhouettes. I would happily wear quite a many of the pieces...if they were offered in olive green or dark gray. The clothing at Alun Alun was reasonably priced for a nicer department store; the items I looked at were around $60-$100.Grand Indonesia didn't have many interesting stores/boutiques but did have many other high-end stores (Chanel, Ferragamo, etc.).

I visited what I consider the equivalent of NYC's 39th street in Jakarta. It was basically the same deal as in NYC; similar/identical selection between all stores, some hidden gems, plus, lots and lots of batik. I was excited after visiting Alun Alun to maybe find some interesting non-Batik fabrics. Employees hovered over my shoulder at each store. The stores had great selections of Batik and silk, but no store had quite what I was looking for, or anything close, even. Everything was very "pretty'...so unless you're like me and prefer weirdly textured, un-pretty fabrics, you might like this place. I left empty-handed, but it was interesting to see the area (whose name I can't remember at the moment!)

Ubud, Bali

I've now been to a ton of stores here in Ubud. Common clothing items include: summery dresses with simple, feminine silhouettes in colorful silk or cotton florals ($25+), paper-bag waist cotton pants (often with a striped fold-over band, $15-20), harem pants (silk - $20-25), colorful scarves/large pieces of Batik to be worn as sarongs. Most tourists are seen wearing these things. What I love about the clothing is the comfort, one-size-fits-all feature (though not advertised this way), and the simplicity. There is a style of pants, I'll try to describe - the side seams are extended outward and completely open. They fold over at the sides and tie at the center front, so it's like there are skirt on both of your legs, in a way. They're so complex and simple at the same time. Terrible description, but needless to say, I got a pair. Also, haggling for a better price was always a success. I saw some interesting pieces at unexpected stores that weren't aiming for any particular aesthetic. Some complex items you would see at Tokyo's LaForet. I did discover a few great boutiques, for example Indigo and Pusaka (on Monkey Forest Road), whose aesthetics I was all-ova, though they were a little more pricey (by Balinese standards). Needless to say, didn't get anything from them (I'm super cheap.) At least I got some cool ideas for free, amirite? I also got Mack and Ami some cool things...

Also, since the summer, I've gotten really interested in this earthy kind of look, and I'm in just the right place for that right now (Bali), as far as [home] accessories go. Woven baskets, wood, hemp, textures-galore. I love the focus on hand-crafted goods here. Wish I had an apartment to decorate with these items.

Another fun fact: Generally speaking, Jakarta and Bali know what's up when it comes to uniforms. Sign me up to work at a restaurant here if that means I get to wear a beautifully cut uniform that fits me perfectly.

After Bali, I've got a few more days in Jakarta and plan to check out Tanah Abang It's supposed to be the best textile market in Jakarta. So we'll see how that goes!

P.S. I did give in and get some Batik harem pants. I'll have to spin them in a non-Indonesian tourist way.

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(Got very sick at the end of my trip and sadly did not make it to Tanah Abang! Next time.)

We were visiting the Uluwatu Temple in South Bali when one monkey swiped my dad's glasses and another, my mom's headband! Both of the items got chewed up, but we eventually got them back. These aggressive monkeys are infamous for stealing. Look at that little evil tongue.