Local artist explores unique batik style

Published Jan. 29, 2010

by Brita Adkinson
MAPLE FALLS – Local resident and artist Susan Lafferty creates delicate sketch-like art work on cloth, using batik technology, at her studio called Meadowkeep near Silver Lake.
“I spent three years learning many art techniques at Marin Community College near San Francisco,” Lafferty said. She learned different methods of making pottery, such as burning raku pots in sand on a beach, and creating sculptures, learning how to pour melting brass or aluminum into a casting. She also tried various kinds of painting techniques. Eventually, Lafferty began focusing on batik art, and developed her own unique style.
“No one had explained how it worked, so, instead of doing what most people do, I found a different way to do it,” she shared.
Traditionally, the artist puts wax over areas that are not to be dyed, then applies the dye to the cloth. Instead, Lafferty used the wax dispenser, called a tjanting tool, as a pen, filling it with the dye and applied the dye onto the cloth. She added further colors using the regular batik method. The method is complex and requires many steps including placing the artwork in the refrigerator in order for the wax to crack open so it can be removed.
“Each piece of art takes a long time to make,” Lafferty said. The tools she uses come from Java. The end result is a piece of art that resembles a water color painting, but with the delicate crack patterns that characterize batik art. Lafferty takes great delight in making pictures of old homes and barns, and also of animals and nature scenes.
An Idaho native, Lafferty traveled across the country, settling in Vermont, Virginia and California, all the while pursuing her art. She has started and operated small businesses, including an art store and a nursery. Moving north to Washington State, Lafferty took up studies in occupational therapy in Seattle, and spent several years assisting people with various handicaps. “My building and design skills came to good use in designing and building ramps for people.”
Lafferty arrived in the Silver Lake area eight years ago, and believes she has found her long-term home. She enjoys restoring and extending her art studio, a small old barn which she arranged to move from its original place by Lake Samish to its new home next to her home on Bear Ridge Way.
Lafferty’s art is displayed at Glacier Creations next to Graham’s Store in Glacier, and Mountainside Gardens at 6900 Mount Baker Highway. Both locations are open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.