fair trade frames

Emmanuel Atiemoh Yeboah celebrates the spirit of cooperation that prevails in West African families where even the children help out. He depicts a young woman who leans lovingly toward her three youngsters. All carry bowls or baskets on their heads as they walk home from the market. Yeboah works in oils on calico, adding cutouts of batik cloth for the gowns and turbans. Other details, such as grass, are created with pen and ink. The composition arrives in a frame of tweneboa wood.

Cradled in his mother's shawl, a baby basks in her love. Yeboah works in oils on cotton calico to depict the pair, adding cutouts of batik cloth and framing his composition with ceiba wood.

Shimmering shades of blue and cream cover this elegant scarf. Yuni Kristina recreates the parang raja. One of many traditional batik motifs, it symbolizes the ancient Javanese kingdom in general. She stamps the blue patterns in pure silk and adds the red blossoms with the batik motif.

Evoking coral reefs in a midnight sea, this beautiful batik robe expresses the artistic freedom of Nyoman Nadri. She creates this graceful rayon robe with wide sleeves and a matching belt. In traditional kimono style, the robe features openings under the arms for adjusting the robe and for ease of movement.

Batik is a fabric art in which the cloth is stretched on a wooden frame and the design sketched with a pencil. Then a mixture of melted wax is painted by hand onto areas where color is not desired. When the fabric is crumpled into the dying solution, the wax cracks, creating an attractive network of fine lines. The wax is removed and the process is repeated for each color utilized. Finally, the cloth is washed and rinsed to remove any excess dye.

This handpainted batik robe is a truly original work of art. Sunlight, water, dye and temperature all factor into the look of the finished robe. This should be considered a unique design made especially for you. Colors and pattern placement will vary.