My first Natural Dye Class with Pok Aziz Awang in Kelantan 2021
If anyone asked me how easy or how difficult has this creative journey been..my answer to that is...
Well to start off, it was easy at first. In the early days of Nysakapas where I spent most of my time alone in the kitchen while my kids were fast asleep, I had lots of time to experiment batikmaking. I just dove without thinking too much. I remember playing with the hot wax, figuring out the recipe, and watch how the wax breaks when the ratio was not correct. It took a long time, to figure it out then. And just like that, things happened quickly for me, my vision from a homemaker to a batikmaker.There's always a learning curve and I've found being more spontaneous works better for me, my growing family and team.
A photo i cherish so dearly with my artisans
It was much harder when Corona hit and work became more scarce. I had to learn to diversify and explore in new ways to offer new things. But it pushed me forward, and there has been the challenge to continually move into work that feels alive and authentic to where I am in the moment.
There's a kind of dance of life and batiks.
We live, we see things, we want to do new things and have to reinvent. There can be uncomfortable times of not knowing what the hack is going to happen. I have learned to trust that good things come from our good efforts., even if not always in the way we might think. I had to earn to trust over time. and i absolutely love this journey, even with its ups and downs!
When we don't know how to be creative, we tend to be passive and expect others to solve our problems. That mindset hasn't worked. We would feel washed ashore like a great whale. If we want the world to change, we need to change ourselves. we need to become creative thinkers! It's not always easy and it is quite a discipline sometimes.
Art helps us.
We can also each respond to what's around us, every good action matters. the best advice I was ever given was to act immediately on inspiration. It's important in art making and in life too. It propels us into a flow of good action. And of course, I believe making art matters, that it's a gift to the world. We need to believe in that and keep making great art! As a Batik Artisan, I've become more adventurous. I'm not always goal-oriented and more willing to try things out. Of course, whatever we do in our creative work, we're doing in our lives, too-getting bolder, more exploratory, more compassionate. Fun too! It has been great for me to share with my fellow team and experience their responses to my work, and to offer mine to theirs. We all get new ideas and build a lot of momentum together.
One of with Amy from Cambodia, laughing in Handblockung Batik Class 
Happy moments with children and their parents at a Batik Class held in our studio
To any of you out there, that feels unattached to their work of art, just remember the first rule, be yourself. We can just be where and who we are, even with our clumsiness. When we can affirm who we are like this, we can enter new explorations with greater ease. We're each unique and great things come to us when we're simply who we are. It's how we offer great things, too.
Second rule, work hard. It's important to do our best so we need to take care of that. Late nights and a little anxiety may be a part of that and it's okay. We can start again when things don't work. We can carry on when the way forward seem unclear, everything comes from doing.
FInally, and maybe this is the most imprtant thing, be kind to others. Find ways to be suppportive. Art is not a competition . The world needs as much true art as we can offer. It's amazing what happens when we support and courage each other
My wish is that we may all know the way art can open us to inspiration and positive action. The world is waiting and it needs us!
Haniza Hisham
