Jananas

When we were traveling we spent a lot of time reading through guide books (thank you lonely planet). One of the things I wanted to do was to hit up some of the classes on dying and weaving. When we were in Chiang Mai, Thailand I came across pamphlets for the Chiang Mai Batik School. I thought it was interesting and it was certainly in line with my goals of learning more about dying and fabric in general.

The people at the guest house next to ours called up Ann & Ken and booked me in for two days later. The morning of, Ann picked me up at my guest house and surprise of surprises, I was the only person even though they have a stated two person minimum. I’m not sure how else (or better) to sum up my experience than saying I had a fantastic day. For 950 bhat (the equivalent of $30), I had a great, hands on experience.

Ann took me through the equipment and basics, teaching me about the different fabrics and waxes and how to use them. First up was learning salt & sugar techniques. I choose a lovely buddha-esque image that Ann had already drawn up. She had a stack of pictures for those of us who are less artistically inclined. We altered it to make it more personal and then I made my first attempt at canting. Ann fixed up my mistakes and then it was only dying. I have to say that this was my favorite part – playing with colours.

Lunch was a homemade Thai meal made by Ann and served in their dining room. That’s some pretty personal service and it was nice to try something that I knew was authentic (and not just food served to tourists). Did I mention that it was delicious and that she’ll serve vegetarians as well. Yeah, awesome.

After lunch we did a second batik technique – the crackle technique. I chose to do mine on a coarse cotton pillow case (versus the handkerchief-type material used in the morning). I learned more working with a different fabric and I ended up with a second type of item to display my batik making prowess. I chose to draw (?), paint (?), batik (?) (I’m not sure what the right/best verb is) of an elephant. We saw them in Thailand and even took an hour long ride on some outside of Chiang Mai so it seemed like a fitting image.

Again, I had a tonne of fun playing with colour. The elephant is actually a purple/gray colour. I loved the contrast of the yellow and the bright bright green of the leaves.

Put it this way, I loved this course. It was worth every dollar, I ended up with great souvenirs, and Ann was a fantastic host and teacher. So yes, I highly recommend taking it.

More from jananas

• Antique Spinning Wheel & Yarn Winder
• The Dilemmas of Working
• Homemade Lilac Jelly