New Batik Fabric!

We have some beautiful new batik colors and patterns in stock in our shop! Batik is hand-painted/dyed fabric with a design that is produced with a wax resist. While Artistic Artifacts and Batik Tambal sell only authentic, handmade batik, if you have some fabric in your stash you are curious about, below are a couple of ways to tell if you have a true batik, and not fabric printed to look like one.

1.) Look at the back side of the fabric. If the color does not carry through, it is not an authentic batik (it can be nearly impossible to tell the front from the back of true batiks). For comparison, look at the back of a commercially printed fabric, whether it is a batik print or not: it will have a noticeably whitish tone.

2.) Look for differences in the design, and even imperfections. Since batiks are made by hand, there will always be slight differences in the motifs. Machine printed fabric will be exactly the same throughout the yardage.

Many people feel that authentic batik has a sense of life and movement in the fabric stemming from its handmade nature. Machine printed fabric, on the other hand, offers a more static feel.

Because the final stage of the batik process is boiling out the wax, there is no need to prewash batik fabrics, so once your fabric arrives from Artistic Artifacts, you can immediately begin sewing or quilting! View all batik fabric »

Visit the Robert Kaufman Fabrics website for Permission to Play: Kaleidoscope Pattern, a free quilt pattern with multiple layout and focal point options, each of which showcases batiks beautifully. While there, view a captioned photo slideshow that illustrates the painstaking work that goes into creating batik fabric.

Want to Design Your Own Batik?

If you’re ready to create your own batik fabric, visit our website to see our current inventory of both new and vintage tjaps, the handmade copper marking tools used to create batik designs!

Mixed Media Metallics Challenge

In the past Artistic Artifacts hosted challenges focused on art quilts, and the results were amazing. (If you don’t own a copy of the photo CDs of either Power Suits or Arts & Old Lace, treat yourself to a wonderful array of creativity!) When the time came to plan the latest Mixed Media Metallics Challenge, we wanted to buck the normal trend of restricting entries to a particular medium so that anyone who wanted to participate would be able to create an entry using their favorite medium and techniques. Art quilts, collages, assemblages, jewelry, etc. — all will be happily accepted! The deadline for submissions is November 23, and we hope you will join us! Visit our website for updates on this challenge, including photos of the prizes for participant raffles (all entries eligible), and to download your entry form.

Fiber & Mixed Media Classes

There is still time this year to learn new techniques, experiment with new mediums and take home a wonderful new piece of art — maybe even something perfect for giving as a gift! Plus we have a full slate of classes scheduled for the first months of 2014 — plan to join us!