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, 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 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.
 
 
When I think of what inspires my work, it all boils down to two things:  my delight in color and in nature.  Most of my batik paintings are of flora from around the world.  Some are flowers and foliage I saw in Belize and the Caribbean, and some are from my New Jersey backyard.  Some are stylized depictions, some more realistic.  All these batiks reveal my fascination with colors ­ combining them, mixing them, savoring every slight difference in shade.  Colors strike an emotional chord within me ­ seeing the right combination of a muted wheat-like yellow and a not-quite barn red can lift my mood immediately.
 
Dharma Trading has been my go-to place for practically all my supplies for the past 11 years. I have been using the habotai silk scarves not only for scarves but also wall hangings. I am now delving into all the other types of silk scarves offered, currently working on a shawl using a silk charmeuse scarf. I buy all my clothing blanks from Dharma. The rayon baby doll top is very popular. The rayon takes the Dharma fiber reactive procion dyes beautifully. I depend on my three copper tjantings and after coveting the tjaps for a while, I received one as a birthday gift from my husband last year. All my supplies for the silk painting workshops I do with children come from Dharma. And of course paraffin, beeswax, the list goes on . . .
 
You can see more of my work at www.SusanItkinBatik.etsy.com and www.susanitkinbatik.com
 
Susan