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Product detail:
Hartati's creative process focuses first on the concept around each individual piece. As her concept gains form, she looks at the design of the fabric she'll use and begins to plan her creation. Drawing the pattern on paper, she chooses the sections of the fabrics to utilize, selects accessories and assembles the piece. One of the biggest challenges is the difficult task of lining up the intricate patterns within the fabric so that the design achieves the artistic effect she is seeking. All hangings utilize batik kain, a 2 1/4-meter length of fabric, which is traditionally worn as a skirt-like item of clothing. In the traditional Javanese women's clothing ensemble called kain kebaya, the batik kain is wrapped from the waist around the hips and legs, and worn with a traditional kebaya top. The value of old batik far surpasses the newer batik designs in Hartati's mind. The colors are faded and the fabric is soft. The use of these old patterns is a special mission for Hartati, as she strives to build appreciation for older batik motifs. Old batik fabric is becoming increasingly difficult to find and the search for the distinctive timeless beauty of the faded batik reaches far into Java to find quality fabrics in good condition. Hartati uses both the traditional muted colors of batik from Yogyakarta and Solo, as well as the more colorful motifs of the Pesisir batik, from the northern Java coastal towns of Cirebon and Pekalongan. Wall hangings and mini-jackets are complemented by the creative use of natural materials including shells, dried fruit, grasses, fibers, leaves, bone, coconut shell, wood and fish teeth which all add to the overall designs in unusual ways. The more complicated the design, the more challenged Hartati is by its creation. She says she is constantly pushing herself with new medium, new styles and new patterns. Can you make special orders? Requests for particular patterns would be almost impossible to fill due to the difficulties in obtaining quality fabrics in sufficient quantity. Thus, Hartati prefers to sell her existing creations and does not accept special orders.
