Rita Trefois
Batik artist and lecturer
Trained in textile chemistry and decorative arts. These backgrounds of scientific and artistic education brought me to batik in the seventies. The fascinating experience of dyeing fabric became my field of action and encouraged the conflict between technical skill and free creativity. Somewhere half-way between technique and inspiration, a field of tension exists where art work prospers. Hot wax and dyes are applied to create designs on fabric.
Travelling around the vast landscapes of the United States and the contacts with cultures from SW China has deeply influenced my concept of working during the last decades. That feeling of oneness with the magnificence of nature is translated into balanced compositions of shapes and colours. The solidarity with other people generates emotions symbolically depicted in abstract arrangements. My admiration for the Chinese ‘ink masters’ can also be traced in my current work.
Batik practice since the early seventies and many years of teaching have led to a serious knowledge about the technique and a huge amount of text material. This provided a good reason to collect all this information in a book: Fascinating Batik – Technique and Practice.
The technical aspect of batik has always been an important element in my creations. Technical skill and free creativity were often in conflict. The exactness of the process frequently clashed with the artistic impulse.
This technical fanaticism was evident in my teaching as well. Knowledge about textile materials, dyes and wax components, chromatics and basic batik techniques were key subject matters for workshops and courses. The texts that were written for that purpose were the foundation for my book - a project that was realised at the request of my students.
Artworks by Rita
| Website | www.ritatrefois.be |