Fauna in the Flora, a new series of batiks by Cindy will be on display at Butterfield Garage art Gallery in St. Augustine.
Read moreNew Direction, New Batiks, Fauna in the Flora
Influences & Inspirations
I did not set out to be influenced. I try to avoid being influenced by other works or style, preferring to find my own path. But lately, a series of poems, have taken my batiks to places I never expected.
Read moreThe Welcome Quiet
Moon over Indigo Ocean no.1
The unexpected sudden shutdown and isolation was a gift. I happily spent lots more time in my studio without any competition from the outside world!
Finding my Way is Never Ending
Since I learned batik seven years ago, I’ve been striving toward mastery of the medium, discovering where I fit into the fine art world, and “finding my voice”. Mastery comes with practice, and my passion with the medium keeps me in the studio many many hours each week. The last two have been the more elusive. I’ve been trying to figure out answers for a couple of years now, and I seem to be in a perpetual state of unrest, pushing toward something that I don’t know, or haven’t figured out.
Read moreBeauty in the Familiar
Nature is the ultimate source of messy, surprising beauty. I can’t get enough of it.
Read moreDreaming in Indigo
Misty Woodlands
Working with a single color forced me to be more inventive and interpretive than I’m accustomed to. I’ve been trying to shake up my thinking for a while, and its working!
A small botanical study of an actual native indigo plant. I’m trying to create the deepest blue possible for the background, and it involves over a dozen extra dips into the vat. Indigo builds color slowly by resubmerging. This is the darkest I’ve been able to create without compromising the waxed whites.
It seems like I’m leaning into a Garden Series here. The dark background is really striking to me.
Everything is BLUE. My hands, my sink, the blue dye of indigo has taken over my mind and studio for the last couple of months. I’m immersed into the process of nurturing a vat of indigo dye (actually two) and experimenting with batik and multiple shades of Indigo. I had no idea it would be this complicated. Working with indigo is part science project, part research, and lots of testing to figure out what it takes to create all those variations.
And it changes from day to day. Learning how to keep the vats consistent takes time and experimenting to figure out how to balance the ingredients to have the correct environment for the indigo to release its dye. Since this isn’t technically a blog about dyeing I won’t bore you with all the details, but I’m happy expand on it in the comments if you ask.
Its all been a blast! I am so energized by all this newness I wanted to share it with you. I have no idea where all this blue is going, I can’t imagine I'll leave other colors behind, but for now, blue is the color for me.
Upcoming Batik Workshop Schedule
Fundamentals of Fine Art Batik with Indigo
September 11-13, 2019
10- 4:00pm each day
Highlands NC - The Bascom Center for the Arts
register thru The Bascom for this class.
Fundamentals of Fine Art Batik
Nov 4-7, 2019
9:30am-4:30pm each day
Maximum enrollment 10 students
$390 includes all supplies
Cork Art District, Jacksonville, FL
to enquire click here
Charging into a New Year
My final batik of the year ended up being a pair. I came upon this pond while riding a bike along a path in Barrington, RI. It stopped me in my tracks. The soft glow of a cloudy day lite up the water, and the contrasting deep shade under the trees along the bank was so quiet and peaceful, I had to hang out for a while.
Most of my subjects are like that. I’m on a little personal adventure when some detail will grab my attention, and I just have to stop and study it. I’ll squint to see how light interacts. I might just sit and feel the air moving. For that moment, I am relaxed into a kind of bliss I rarely feel outside of raw nature.
Brickyard Pond I & II
Batik on Cotton
20 X 25” framed (ea)
$680ea
2018 was a year of exploration. Which has only wet my appetite for more.
For the fun of it I’m posting the progression of steps of dye and wax with these batiks. Because I start with the lightest colors first, building gradually darker dyes thru many steps ( these images depict only the more noticeable ones) It’s almost like these batiks emerged gradually onto the cotton from a fog.
Happy new year everyone! I’m excited to see where 2019 leads! I do have a few plans in place, one is to experiment with batik and indigo. I’m really looking forward to this side path. Indigo stands up to light, and I will be able to ditch the frames to explore other display methods. My mind is already spinning….
2019 Batik Workshops Scheduled
click for details
March 4-7 10-4:30
St. Augustine FL - Vilano Community Center
September 11-13 10- 4:00 pm
Highlands NC - Bascom Center for the Arts
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The Devil is in the Details... or Lack of
Welcome to my first blog post ever. My intention is to focus on what's happening behind the scenes in my batik studio, hopefully about four times a year. Check back occasionally if you are interested in this sort of thing: and if you would like notification of a new blog post by email, please fill out the form on the contact me page.
I have intentionally put this year aside from any shows or classes to experiment with my technique, and take some chances without the looming fear of a flop on a deadline to hold me back. I even have "Be Wreckless " taped to my desk.
My graphic design background trained me in composition and color theory, and a lifetime of drawing, especially in pen and ink, directs the way I use the tjanting tool to apply melted wax. Now five years into learning the medium of batik, and focusing on achieving detail, I can see that there is also a process of leaving some details out. All detail is not equal, and as I study what I'm drawn to in others' art, a common thread is undefined areas. It's much more interesting to put a lot of detail in some areas, and leave other areas with just a suggestion. And this skill has not been quick for me to come by. Over the last few months I have had my share of successes and failures, and have yet to feel like it is a natural instinct. But I do have a new direction! Here are two recent batiks that I was the most successful in maintaining that balance.
Cindy Wilson
I worked hard to keep detail in the grasses only in the foreground, and transition to simple blocks of color gradually. The trees at the top are only suggested in the highlights, while the shadow areas remained flat. I'm learning the shapes have to be dynamic enough to pull it off.
Lopez Island Hillside
16x26" batik on cotton (framed 22x32")
$1100 available
The detail in the poppies, contrasting with the rough splatters to suggest white flowers was nerve-racking to try, I had to splatter the white before I began dying anything. What looked like a mess in the beginning paid off, and I held back a lot of detail in the background, so it wouldn't compete with the flowers.
Poppies in Paris
13 X 13” batik on cotton ( framed 21 X 21”)
available $580