INDONESIAN BATIK WORKSHOP Wax • Colour • Cloth • An Ancient Creative Tradition

INDONESIAN BATIK WORKSHOP
Wax • Colour • Cloth • An Ancient Creative Tradition

Friday 16 October | 7pm to 9pm
Berwyn Bookshop, Buckley High Street
Small group workshop | Beginners very welcome

Join us for a rather special autumn evening of creativity, culture and conversation in the beautiful new home of Berwyn Bookshop on Buckley High Street.

Emma and Adam have created much more than a bookshop. Their new premises are warm, characterful and beautifully designed, with books to browse, a coffee house and plenty of reasons to linger.

For one evening, we'll gather around the table after hours to explore the fascinating art of Indonesian Batik.

An ancient craft, passed from hand to hand

Batik is a centuries old textile tradition with particularly deep cultural significance in Indonesia.

The traditional process uses hot wax as a resist, creating areas that repel colour and allowing patterns and imagery to gradually emerge across the cloth.

Indonesian Batik was recognised by UNESCO in 2009 as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, reflecting not simply a decorative technique, but a rich living tradition of knowledge, symbolism, craftsmanship and cultural identity.

Artist and designer Jayne Hopwood had the opportunity to learn about Batik first hand while travelling and undertaking creative training in Indonesia in 2025.

For this workshop, Jayne will share what she learnt and bring some of the traditional Indonesian tools she worked with, giving participants an opportunity to experience this beautiful technique for themselves.

What we'll do

Over two relaxed hours, you'll discover how the wax resist process works before creating your own textile artwork.

You'll experiment with:

• traditional Batik tools
• hot wax and wax resist
• fabric paints and colour
• pattern, line and mark making
• developing your own individual design

Jayne will demonstrate the process and guide you throughout, so absolutely no previous art or textile experience is required.

Batik has a wonderfully absorbing quality. Working slowly with wax and colour asks us to concentrate on what is happening beneath our hands, experiment and sometimes allow the unexpected to become part of the finished piece.

There is no need for perfection.

This is about learning, experimenting and enjoying an ancient creative process.

What you'll take home

By the end of the evening you'll have learnt a completely new creative technique and will leave with your own original Batik textile artwork, together with the knowledge and inspiration to continue exploring the process.

All materials, specialist tools and aprons are provided.

Please wear clothing you don't mind creating in.

Refreshments will be available from Berwyn Bookshop during the evening.

A beautiful place to make

Come on your own or bring a friend.

Arrive a little early, browse the books, choose a drink and settle around the table for an autumn evening spent doing something wonderfully different.

Books. Art. Conversation. Culture. And two hours making something with your own hands.

Your booking helps someone else create too 💚

This workshop is delivered by Arts for Health & Wellbeing CIC, a not for profit Community Interest Company.

Income from our events allows us to pay facilitators fairly and meet the costs of delivering high quality creative experiences. Any surplus is reinvested into our community work, helping us provide free and low cost creative and wellbeing opportunities for young people, families and people who may otherwise struggle to access them.

We believe creativity and human connection should not only be available to those who can comfortably afford them.

Your place at this workshop helps us make space for somebody else at another.

Practical details

Friday 16 October
7pm to 9pm
Please arrive around 10 minutes early to settle in.

📍 Berwyn Bookshop, Buckley High Street
🎨 All materials and specialist tools included
👩‍🎨 Beginners very welcome
👥 Small group workshop
☕ Refreshments available

Parking is available opposite the bookshop. Please check the car park signage on arrival for current evening restrictions or charges.

Booking essential. Places are limited.