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Handaru Baskoro

The artistry of Handaru Baskoro has been featured in periodicals ranging from La Opinion newspaper (Los Angeles) to the Detroit News and Free Press.

"My name is Handaru Baskoro. I come from a region where batik has strong roots in the culture. We create beautiful wooden batik with Indonesian batik ornaments, but we focus more into Yogya and Solo classic batik motifs. The color we use is sogan, or brown, a trademark of the Yogya-Solo classic batik motifs. All of our products have the name of the motifs - they are Parang family, Kawung family, Ceplok family, Semen family, Nitik family and Banji family. Each of the motifs is divided into submotifs. For example, Parang family is divided into Parang Jenggot, Parang Barong, Parang Klitik, Parang Rusak, Parang Kirono and many others. Beside each motif has its own meaning, like the Parang Kirono is only used by the high caste, Grompol motif, from the Kawung family means thing that can bring the prosperity, and Sido Mukti motif symbolizing the high caste in the society.

"The process in making wooden batik is the same as the process in making textile batik. They use the small canting instruments for waxing to make very fine lines in the works and dip technique coloring so the color can stay strongly. The next step is ngelorot. This is the process of boiling the wooden batik so the wax can come off easily. The last step is to put the wooden batik in the oven for 24 hours and than leave it in the open air for one or two hours to avoid of being destroyed by the insects."

"I enjoy my work greatly, and hope that my customers take pleasure in sharing our rich cultural heritage."