SRI LANKA'S CRAFTS

Batiks

Textiles and Batiks are another craft, originally Indonesian, but now incorporates Sri Lankan style. Batik means generic wax resist-dyeing technique used on textiles to make colorful and dramatic fabrics. The patterns are made on a white cloth and according to the pattern its size, the number of sessions of boiling and waxing vary.

"Batik is a “resist” process for making designs on fabric. The artist uses wax to prevent dye from penetrating the cloth, leaving “blank” areas in the dyed fabric. The process, wax resist then dye, can be repeated over and over to create.

Batik is especially unique due to the way certain wax blends will “crackle” during handling, where fine cracks through the wax resist allow lines of color on resisted areas.

Batik can be done with many types of dye & wax on cotton, silk and other natural fabrics. Most weights will work, provided the wax penetrates all the way through the fabric, but the finer weaves work best for detail work. We used cotton, but feel free to use what you want. Silk is a little more challenging to work with because of its unique wicking properties.

Batik masters employ a process of repeated waxing and tub dyeing to achieve their final result. This method requires mastery of color mixing and over dyeing; as each layer of dye is applied over the last, a new color is produced. You don't have to be a batik master however to get some great fun results."

Pottery

Pottery is the oldest of the Sri Lankan crafts and is the source of everyday utensils for 70 percent of the population. Low fired cooking pots, cooking pans, jugs, bowls, goblets, tiles, vases, are the most widely used kitchen utensils of Sri Lanka. Terracotta figures and carved vases  are also commonly used in Sri Lanka for decorative purposes.

"The three raw materials used in Sri Lankan pottery are :

Earthen-ware clay is the common red clay, usually mixed with sand and grit, used mainly for  making bricks and tiles.

White clay occurs in the form of large deposits. It cannot be used on its own and should be combined with other materials used in pottery.

Ball clay occurs in smaller deposits and gets mixed with kaolin to create the clay body and this mixture is often used to produce china.

Sri Lanka pottery is turned out by means of a small wheel being turned by the potter while shaping the lump of clay with hands and then oven-hardened in a traditional kiln built of brick. The major quantity of the products is plain utensils devoid of decoration. With the demand for decorated pottery being on the rise, dying the wet clay in patterns and glazing are now introduced."

Kandyan Jewelry

Galle Jewelry

There are two traditional types of jewelry making in Sri Lanka. Galle is the kind of jewelry making that uses precious stones, and Kandyan is jewelry making through intricate metal work, especially with silver.

"There is a technique Called filigree Work. This filigree work is found in the Silver Jewelry. In this type of Jewelry you get grainy finish. These telescopic grains are made of hairy Silver wire and welded to the surface. This technique is very difficult and finds therefore, it is Expensive.

Handicraft of metal cutwork involves cutting the design onto a flat sheet of metal first and embellishing the work by engraving, hatching or Repousse secondly. This method is adopted mainly in production of metalwork such as trays and plaques. 


In Repousse method, the desired pattern is hammered in on the reverse side so that the relief carving emerge on the front side. Repousse metalwork is the most characteristic type of Sri Lankan metalwork. This method is applied on brass, copper, silver, or all three together to create a variety of traditional designs."

Wood Carving

lacquer work

Traditional Sri Lankan masks are believed to bring curative power for solving physical ailments.  There are three kinds of masks: the Sanni mask, which is used for healing illnesses (each Sanni mask addresses a different illness), the Kolam mask, which is used for dramas, and the Raksha mask used in rituals and features often in a the form of a mythical bird, cobra or peacock. They are made from forma light wood called kaduru and is carved into different characters.

"The method called spool-work is practiced with applying a stick of lac to the object fixed onto a spindle of a lathe machine. The resulting friction caused by the revolving objects melts the lac making it seep into the grain making a glossy coating on the object.

The method called nailwork is practiced by using a thumbnail to fashion the thread of lac. In addition to these traditional methods, today, Lacquerwork is also produced by an inferior method: painting the object and covering it with layers of varnish. Lac is a resin secreted from the bark of certain trees that have been infested with the lac beetle. The resin is scraped from the bark, melted and strained. While the lac is soft, pigment is beaten in to produce the desired colour and left to dry. Lac is applied in two different techniques."

Sri Lankan Weaving

Basket making is another common craft with many techniques, including randing, skewing, pairing, waling, and upsetting. The material used is ratan or bamboo. Toys, table mats, boxes, lamp shades, vases, and fans are also made with this craft.

"Sri Lankan mats are traditionally woven on a loom using fibres from the bowstring hemp, usually in black or white and are often decorated with stripes, animal, or floral designs. Other mats are made from a fiber similar to Jute extracted from the leaves of Hana, a wild hemp, and is processed, dyed and woven in patterns. 

Other types of weaving incorporates bamboo, cane, rattan, and bata. The thinner canes of the plant are split and used for making the body of the baskets white the canes with a larger diameter are used to make the frames and handles."

Lace Work

Lacemaking was introduced to Sri Lanka by the Dutch during Dutch colonial times, specifically in the Galle area. Sinhalese ladies soon learned how to make lace and it became a local craft. Lace work involves a paper pattern wrapped around a special pin cushion and the throwing of around 30 wooden bobbins. This is one of the most time consuming of Sri Lankan Handicrafts.

"Prior to weaving, the lace-maker needs to prepare a stencil on a piece of cardboard using graphing paper; this requires the lace-maker needs to know all the different types of knots used in lace-making. The pattern of the is traced on the paper and then fixed onto the rotatable pillow, the wooden structure on the pillow is used to make lace. They then weave over 30 wooden bobbins to create a pattern using pins when necessary for separating the different knots. The craft is so intricate that it takes an experienced lace maker about a week to create a metre of one inch wide lace."