Maggie Dillon Designs

"The Boys"  Batik and Thread Work by Maggie Dillon Designs

www.Maggie-Dillon-Designs.blogspot.com

I am a textile/fiber artist, working exclusively in Batik.

2009 Bachelor of Arts, Flagler College, St. Augustine, Florida
Majoring in Fine Arts

Artist statement:  Celebrating memories with a glimpse of a personal relationship and natural daily life exemplifies my work. My goal, when executing a piece, is to bring a photograph to life, not just recreate the image.

With each batik fabric differing, the tangled pattern is always a mystery. The irregularity of batiks lends itself to the shapes I use in my layering technique. Variances in pattern cause shadow and highlight, giving my work its characterizing appearance. The threadwork blends the stitching around the edges.

Whether it’s a couple sitting at a waterfront, an old man reading his bible, or a family portrait, I enjoy capturing a moment. I use photographic references to create representational portraits of an occasion among friends, a glimpse of a relationship and natural daily life, or a celebration of family; my artistry presents memories.

Location:  Sarasota, Florida, USA

Blog:  Maggie-Dillon-Designs 

Languages spoken:  English

"On the Edge of Darkness"  Batik and Thread Work by Maggie Dillon Designs

Tags:  people, figurative, batik, portraits, children, women, men, scenery, landscape.

SilkMari

http://www.SilkMari.etsy.com/

I have been a Certified Artisan  by the Department of Tourism and  the ""Department of Culture"" of  Puerto Rico for more than 20 years.

I am fortunate to be part of the Artisan Market in ""La Placita Darsena"" as it is called,  located off  Pier 1, in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA.  I enjoy meeting travelers from all over the world who come to explore the Tropical Island of Puerto Rico.

Although I paint on burlap with acrylic paint, I consider myself a Silk Artist because my love is dyeing and painting on silk.

Each of my scarves is individually hand dyed and hand painted making them a ... one-of-a-kind ... by virtue of the process used. Batik, Tie-dye and Silk Painting are some of the techniques I love to explore and use. 

Location:  Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico

Online shop:   SilkMari

Blog:  SilkMari

Other social media:  Twitter

Membership: Silk Painting Gallery Network 

Languages spoken:  English, Spanish

 Paintings on Silk by SilkMari

Tags:  Silk Artist,  fiber artist, artisan, hand dyed, hand painted,  silk,  silk scarves, tie dye, batik,  silk painting, wearable art

Susan Itkin Batik

www.susanitkin.com

I am a textile artist and I primarily utilize the centuries-old fabric dyeing technique of batik, using dyes and wax resist to create wall art, clothing, home décor, and greeting cards. Although I first tried batik many years ago as a teenage art student, I was drawn back to it in 1997 when I found the batik I created back in high school, a patterned skirt, folded away in a corner of the basement.  Thinking it would be fun to try it again, I began to batik, and I haven’t stopped since.  I love the planning part, which is like solving a puzzle. I love the tactile part of it – feeling the cloth, smooth when it is new, then rough when loaded with layers of wax, smooth and shiny and stiff when I iron off the wax, then silky and supple again when I get the last remaining wax out.  I love swooshing the cloth in the dye bath, watching the color develop, and then hanging my batiks up to dry. On a warm spring day, my backyard is enlivened by my colorful clothesline.

Because I enjoy scrapbooking, my playing with paper evolved into making cards, and of course I had to incorporate my batik into that!  I make greeting cards from photos of my batiks, sometimes bits of those photos crafted into a collage. Each card is hand crafted, creatively matted and embellished.

I welcome custom orders. I recently batiked a dress for a mother-of-the-bride. We collaborated on the design, which had elements from one of my wall hangings.

I have exhibited and sold my work throughout the New Jersey/New York metropolitan area. Most recently I exhibited my wall hangings and scarves at the Maurice Pine Public Library Gallery in Fair Lawn, NJ. My cards are currently for sale at Stoopher and Boots, located on the Upper West Side in New York City. I have SusanItkinBatik shops on Etsy and 1000 Markets.

Although mostly self-taught, I studied batik at the New School for Social Research in New York. I minored in Fine Arts at Syracuse University, where I obtained a B.S. in Communications. 

Artist's Statement:  Batik is great "therapy" for a former perfectionist like me. Much like the flora that inspires my work, batik is an imperfect perfect art.  As no two leaves are alike, no two batiks are alike.  Just like the colors on a flower’s petal, the dyes on a piece of fabric blend a little differently each time. 

My anticipation and delight in each blossoming flower reflects my hope and joy each time I remove the wax from a completed batik.   The beautiful imperfections in the batik process have taught me to value the unique and enjoy the unexpected.

"Anthurium", detail, batik by Susan Itkin

Location:  Oradell, New Jersey, USA
Online Shops:  susanitkinbatik
Social Media:  Twitter, My Space
Memberships:  Etsy NJ Team
Languages spoken:  English

Tags:  batik, silk, scarves, floral, clothing, cards, pillows, cotton, wall hanging, colorful

David Lucht

http://www.cowango.com/davidlucht

Cowango Studios is the home for two hardworking artists (who just happen to be married), Stefanie Graves and David Lucht. Stefanie paints the watercolors. David does the batik. We are both dedicated to improving our lives and surprising ourselves through the visual arts. 

Aritst's Statement:  Batik's origins lie in fabric design, so it participates in the world of craft where the object is meant to contribute a sense of grace and beauty to peoples lives. I try to bring forward that tradition of elevating the commonplace and utilitarian object, using it as a support for the imagery I develop to show batik's potential as a fine art.

In batik the image and the cloth become a fully integrated thing. There is no surface decoration in batik. The image is established in the fiber of the cloth. I find that to be a very powerful idea.

Batik painting presents many challenges for me and the sense of exploration and adventure engage me as I pursue the skills required for its mastery. But batik has also offered some surprising solutions. It created an escape valve which allowed me to access different areas of image making which I never considered using traditional painting media. These new freedoms and restraints now provide the place where my personal style can develop.

Coming out of the world of craft, batik appeals to me in so many ways: as communal, as beauty in the utilitarian, as an anti-elitist alternative. Batik is undiscovered territory. It has magical qualities of obscurity and revelation. The finished work is only seen in its entirety at the very end of the process, when the wax is removed and the image revealed.

Location:  Paducah, Kentucky, USA

Brick and mortar:

   Cowango Studios
   517 N 8th Street
   Paducah, Kentucky 42001

   270-908-0755
   (open the second Saturday of each month and by calling ahead)

Blog: Life in the Hyphen

Languages spoken: English, Spanish

 "The Darndest Thing", Batik by David Lucht

Tags:  batik, painting, silk, fine art, contemporary realism, world batik