Faux Batik for the Classroom!

Using hot wax is not the safest technique to use in a classroom full of students, but using faux batik techniques can empower more teachers to feel comfortable allowing students to explore this more approachable medium.

Collaborating with Science and Spanish

8th grade students at my former school wrote research papers about endangered species every year in the fall. Spanish classes discussed the holiday of Día de los Muertos. In art, we brought the 2 together by drawing their researched endangered animal into the Mexican style of a calavera (a traditional sugar skull,) using organic lines and shapes in a symmetrical pattern. After drawing their animal calaveras and adding a design in the background, students should trace it in sharpie to be able to see it through the canvas on the next step better. They should also make sure to keep enough space between each line and shape in order to trace it in glue and not have the small details run together.

EXAMPLES OF TRADITIONAL SUGAR SKULLS

Faux Batik Method

Clear glue will be taking the place of hot wax using this faux method of batik. Students start by attaching their drawings underneath a piece of untreated canvas. I made sure that the canvas pieces they will be transferring these designs onto are about an inch wider and longer on all sides. They also need to add a piece of plastic wrap between their drawing and the canvas so that the glue doesn't stick to their drawing when it soaks into the canvas. The glue lines should be thick enough to be seen and make nice borders between shapes but not so thick that the insides of the shapes get blocked. In order to leave nice clean lines, the glue needs to soak into the cloth to block it from being dyed by the paint.

After the drawing is completely traced in glue and dries, students will paint inside each shape with symmetrical colors. I have had the best luck using Crayola Premier Tempera paints rather than Washable in order for the paint to dye the canvas. You can also use dye, but the colors weren't significantly brighter to warrant paying for an extra supply if you already have tempera in your cabinets. If you don't have premier tempera, the washable colors do end up a lot less bright, so it is worth the investment. I haven't tried fabric markers yet, so please comment below if you try it to let us know how it works.

https://smile.amazon.com/Binney-Smith-Crayola-Premier-Tempera

Ofrenda for Día de los Muertos

When the projects were dry, students soaked and washed them in bins until all of the glue washes away and only dyed canvas remains. Students wrapped and glued the top edge around a dowel and tied string to both ends. They hung their finished projects so that they set a scene behind a table. We filled the table many projects, including poems in Spanish about their ancestors and other Día de los Muertos-themed projects from many grade levels.

More Endangered Animal Batiks