Sarah Tucker

Sarah Tucker first encountered batik in 1971. Since then, she has been developing and experimenting with the technique, producing a wide range of pictures, hangings, scarves and greeting cards. She has run regular courses in batik for, among others, Morley College Lambeth, for Spelthorne Adult Education, for West Dean College, Chichester and for 'Art in Action' at Waterperry House, Oxford. Her book 'Batik' is published by Crowood Press, and her works are in many private collections.

Sarah says:

"My aim is the transformation of colour perception resulting from the endless variations of the batik process. I work on cotton lawn, silk and certain Chinese and hand-made papers using mainly Procion cold water reactive dyes. I sometimes use a canting, but often prefer to work with brushes and with other techniques for applying the wax - the simpler the better. Although I now hand-paint dyes regularly, dip-dyeing remains crucial to my work; it means that the colours are constantly changed, muted and transmuted by the immediacy of the dye bath. I particularly enjoy the marbling effect created by the dye penetrating cracks in the wax. Since experimenting with wax, dye and bleach on paper, I have become fascinated by the possibilities offered by collage. Batik for me means colour and change."