Making and preserving batik stamps

Slamet Susanto , The Jakarta Post , YOGYAKARTA | Fri, 04/17/2009 5:44 PM | Culture

Hadi Wiyono’s children want him to give up making batik stamps, as the labor-intensive craft has so little financial benefit, but he is determined to continue.
What’s more, he is determined to see the craft continue too.

“Before I die I want someone to inherit my skills in making batik stamps,” he says. “That is my goal right now.”

To achieve this goal, Hadi is contacting batik co-operatives, offering free lessons in making the stamps.

He is also hoping for governmnt help through a change in policy, specifically through a subsidy for the raw materials to ensure that the batik stamp manufacturers can survive.

“Aid is not just about money because that does not educate. Aid should be in the form of a policy to support the batik industry,” he says.
“Not like BLT [cash assistance]: bantuan langsung ludes, meaning the aid soon ends. That doesn’t help society to become creative, only to become beggars.”

To make batik stamps, one requires simple enough equipment — scissors, rulers, pliers, soldering equipment and screwdrivers — but special skills.

Among these requisite skills, says Hadi, are patience and precision.

First, a sheet of copper is cut to the design of the motif. The cutting must be precise; there must not be a mistake of even just one millimeter.

To ensure the cut-out matches the design, the eye and heart must be as one, and intense concentration is required, the artisan says: When the eye sees, the hand measures and the heart is at ease, the size of the cut copper is always right.

Once the copper is cut, it is shaped and adjusted according to the design. It is then heated, simply, over a charcoal fire, to ensure the copper is flexible and can be easily processed.

The soft copper is then soldered to make one complete stamp. The many small details of the stamp make the soldering process very complicated, requiring patience and care.

The batik stamp is then boiled using ash and polished using iron powder to make the stamp shine. This traditional process is done by hand.