Marisa Fritzemeier

Final Free Study

15SP-ART-250- 01
May 4, 2014
Crayola Crayon Batik

As an art education major I chose to focus my final study on a lesson

plan that I might incorporate in my future classroom. Batik is an ancient wax
resist technique, specific to the decoration of textiles. Its earliest origins date
back to 4th century Egypt, although evidence of it has been found in a variety
of cultures across the globe. Typically the fabric is stamped with wax by
heating up heavy decorative copper stamps. A pen-like instrument, called a
canting, may also be used to free hand designs. Once the wax is dry the
fabric is dipped in a dye bath. These steps can be repeated many times until
the final product is reached. Once this process is completed the fabric is
dipped into a vat of boiling water in order to remove the wax from the fabric.
Much like ancient traditions my process relies on wax and dye. I mixed
various shades of Crayola crayons with paraffin wax on a hot plate. The plate
became a palate just like if I was painting with paints. The pigment in the
crayon stains the fabric and the dye bath makes up the ground of the piece.
The fabric is later dipped in Rit dye and once it has dried the wax is ironed
out between the pages of a newspaper.

Compositionally I chose to make the focal point around one purple

olive. The piece is cyclical in nature as the viewer works their way around the
piece, jumping from olive to olive. The olives in the upper left hand corner
point back toward the purple olive while the green olive in the bottom right
hand corner stops the eye from exiting the piece. A bluish green is used
specifically in only two leaves (top center), helping them to stand out slightly
from the rest, while heightening their color quality. The lines of these leaves
lead the eye toward the purple olive. Likewise a vibrant sliver of red, just
slightly up and to the right, whisks us down toward the focal point yet again.
Deeper shades of green make up the majority of the leaves, providing
depth, while the purple ground works to pull the eye into slightly deeper
space. However the color saturations are very similar to one another, which
allows the olives to pop out while also blending in all at the same time. This
creates a sense of thick foliage within the olive tree. Bits of yellow nicely
accent the work and give the viewer glimpses of sunlight peeking through
the branches. Various values of both green and purple help to define the
forms of the olive fruit.
The overall level of saturation is consistent. The color harmonies are
built around a split complementary color scheme of purple, yellow- green,
and yellow- orange. Various tints and shade of these three colors are used
within the piece, while compliments of both green and orange are used in a
strategic way to help break up the monotony of the dominant green and
purple hues.

The piece has been paced within a light box to help accentuate the
color qualities. Allowing the light to pass through helps to further develop the
various values. A more serious box would need to be built if this piece were
to be put on display. However this experiment has given me greater
understanding for light box builds in the future.