| 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. She is vice-chairman of the Batik Guild and is in many
private collections. Her book 'Batik' is published by Crowood Press.
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." |
