“Batik 08.08.08,” a show of modern artwork utilizing the ancient method of dyeing cloth, will open on Friday at the First Street Gallery, sponsored by the Trinidad Area Arts Council. A reception from 5 to 6:30 p.m. will be for TAAC members only, and a public reception is scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
The featured batik artists, husband-wife team Jonathan Evans and Beth McCoy who live part of the year in LaVeta, also will conduct a three-day adult workshop at the First Street Gallery Saturday through Monday, Aug. 9 -11. The workshop will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, and cost is $145, with all materials provided. Participants will be able to complete a batik scar and wall-hanging by the end of the workshop.
Batik is a process of dyeing using a resist, a substance which prohibits dyes from penetrating. The resist is usually melted wax, but starch, oils, flour paste, even mud have been used down through the ages. Although it is not known exactly where batik originated, the art has been perfected on the islands of Indonesia.
Evans, born in England and educated in Scotland, has been a full time batik artist since the late 1960s, when, as a primary school teacher, he experimented with wax and dyes in a classroom with kids. In 1982, he represented the USA in the International Batik Show in Koln, Germany. He has shown his work at the Textile Museum in Washington, DC, and throughout the United States. During the past decade, Evans has traveled around the world, worked in Bali and in the Himalayas in North India, where he and his wife currently spend part of the year.
McCoy was raised on the East Coast, and after a series of different jobs after high school, moved to Colorado in 1988 and began to paint seriously. The natural beauty of her surroundings new LaVeta have provided great inspiration, she says, as have extensive travels with her husband, which has given her new subjects to explore in batik.
The batik show at the First Street Gallery will continue through August 29, featuring a variety of current works by both artists. The Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information about the show, or to sign up for the batik workshop, call the TAAC at 719-846-1441 or 859-7702.