Batik Greeting Cards

This summer I created a series of batik greeting cards. The process of making the cards took about five days. The design , which resembles pieces of a puzzle,  is drawn on masa  paper(Oriental rice paper). Areas designed to be completely white are painted with hot wax. When this dries, the first watercolor is applied. Again selected areas are painted with wax letting each layer of wax and watercolor dry for each application. There are between six to eight stages of alternating color and wax. One last coat of hot wax is applied over the design. The paper is wadded in a ball cracking the wax. A dark watercolor wash is painted over the cracked wax. The final stage is ironing all of the wax out of the paper. As the wax melts unpredictably, no two cards are ever alike. The cards are in two shops in Hendersonville: The Haven Gift Gallery at Monthaven and Simply Gifts located next to Aldi Grocery Store in Hendersonville.