Kali

$35
Item Code: BB08
Specifications:
Batik Painting On Cotton
Dimensions 2.7 ft x 3.7 ft
Handmade
Handmade
Free delivery
Free delivery
Fully insured
Fully insured
100% Made in India
100% Made in India
Fair trade
Fair trade
Goddess Kali is represented here as a terrible woman with four arms.

Kali's fierce appearances have been the subject of extensive descriptions in several earlier and modern works. Though her fierce form is filled with awe- inspiring symbols, their real meaning is not what it first appears- they have equivocal significance.

Kali's four arms represent the complete circle of creation and destruction, which is contained within her. She represents the inherent creative and destructive rhythms of the cosmos. One of her left hands makes the mudra of "fear not" and represents the creative aspect of Kali, the second left hand holds a severed head.The right hands hold a trident and a bloodied sword. The bloodied sword and severed head symbolize the destruction of ignorance and the dawning of knowledge. The sword is the sword of knowledge, that cuts the knots of ignorance and destroys false consciousness (the severed head). Kali opens the gates of freedom with this sword, having cut the eight bonds that bind human beings. The trident is symbolic of Shiva, the Lord of Kali.

The image of a recumbent Shiva lying under the feet of Kali represents Shiva as the passive potential of creation and Kali as his Shakti. The generic term Shakti denotes the Universal feminine creative principle and the energizing force behind all male divinity including Shiva. Shakti is known by the general name Devi, from the root 'div', meaning to shine. She is the Shining One, who is given different names in different places and in different appearances, as the symbol of the life-giving powers of the Universe. It is she that powers him. This Shakti is expressed as the i in Shiva's name. Without this i, Shiva becomes Shva, which in Sanskrit means a corpse. Thus suggesting that without his Shakti, Shiva is powerless or inert.

Click Here to read our detailed newsletter on Goddess Kali.

This is a batik painting. Batik is a medium that lies somewhere between art and craft, and is believed to be at least 2000 years old.

The Process of batik :

The technique of batik is a demanding one. In general, the final design is conceived before the picture is begun. The batik artist works intimately with color; if he wishes parts of his design to be light yellow, for example, all these parts must be waxed at the same time before any subsequent dyeing. He cannot isolate one part of his design and complete it before moving on to the others as an artist in oils or watercolor may; he must create his design in stages, each of which encompasses the whole picture.

The basic process of batik is simple. It consists of permeating an area of fabric with hot wax so that the wax resists the penetration of dye.

If the cloth we begin with is white, such as bleached cotton, linen, or silk, then wherever we apply hot wax that area will remain white in the final design. After the first waxing the fabric is dipped into a dye bath whose color is the lightest tone of those to be used. When the piece has dried, we see an area of white and an area of cloth that is the color of the first dyeing. Wax is now applied to those parts in which we wish to retain the first color, and the entire fabric is immersed in the second dye bath whose color is darker in tone than the first. This process is repeated until the darkest tone required in the final design has been achieved. When the fabric, now almost wholly waxed, has dried it is placed between sheets of absorbent paper and a hot iron applied. As the sheets of paper absorb the wax they are replaced by fresh sheets until the wax is removed. At this point the final design is seen clearly for the first time.

Because of its ready availability the best fabric for most batiks is cotton. The weave of the cloth should not be too close, and the fabric should be translucent when held in front of a light. For the best results, the fabric to be waxed is stretched on a frame in a taut manner to prevent wrinkles which may cause the wax to run in an unpredictable way.

As with painting, color is an integral part of batik. A painter uses pigment; a batik artist uses dyes. The Painter can, if he chooses, completely obliterate an undesirable color by covering it with another color. Perhaps he must wait until the unwanted color is dry, but there is no doubt about it, he has another chance, he can cover up his mistake.

In batik the correction of mistakes, in most cases, is impossible. The Painter is not limited in any way in the variety of colors he uses and juxtaposes. In batik, however, each color used is significantly changed by the proceeding color; or at least it is certainly affected by the color "underneath". The only pure color is the first one, so all other colors used are mixtures, determined largely by the first color, or the first strong color.

Of Related Interest:

Mother Goddess as Kali - The Feminine Force in Indian Art (Article)

Kali The Mother (Book)

Kali (Silver Pendant)

Kali in the Birth-Giving Posture (Miniature Painting on Paper)

Goddess Kali (Folk Painting from Orissa)

Kali the Terrible (Folk Painting from Bihar)

The Goddess Kali (Batik Painting On Cotton)

Shyama-Kali Yantra (Tantra Painting)

Jai Mata Di (Prayer Shawl)

Add a review
Have A Question

For privacy concerns, please view our Privacy Policy