Featured Artist : Eric JacksonBay Fibers Studio

My name is Eric Jackson, and I am a batik artist from Southern Maryland. I grew up and work on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay- the Nation’s largest estuary and one of our nation’s most significant waterways. My work is really about a connection to the water through memory and experience, and a desire to know it more deeply. I’m inspired to create artworks depicting Chesapeake and mid-Atlantic fauna, mainly using aquatic life and waterfowl I encounter while exploring the water. Maryland is sometimes known as “America in Miniature” due to the varied terrain, wildlife, and extensive coastlines, and there’s always inspiration right outside. Whenever I’m struggling for ideas, the best option has always been just to go outside and explore!

I like to think of my work as a blend of modern and traditional; I use traditional wax and dye methods to create traditional wildlife illustrations, but the final results have a very contemporary aesthetic to them. I work exclusively with cold water procion dyes and do a blend of low immersion, full immersion and direct application in different pieces. As one could probably guess, the color palette tends to prefer the cool colors of water, and I love the interplay of #180 Glacier Blue, #25 Turquoise, and #28A Aqua. I work with a blend of soy wax and beeswax, which I’ve experimented with to get the right balance, and the low temp soy wax allows me to work mainly with foam brushes. For tjantings, I use homemade ones I learned from a west-African batik tradition, crafted from copper wire wrapped around a sturdy tree twig! Because I generally forgo a lot of the characteristically intricate line work done with traditional tjantings, many viewers do a double-take before realizing it actually is batik!

I think batik is an amazing medium to work in, especially for artists who struggle with perfection! Embracing the nature of the imperfections and the unexpected surprises keeps me grounded in my practice, while also pushing me to explore and get better at my craft. Even when works don’t come out the way I planned, they usually end up looking pretty awesome