Toni Spencer has been showing her batiks as Guest Artist at PPP for many years. A resident of Idaho since 2001, she has taken part in art shows from Alaska to California for more than 30 years. All her batiks start with her original drawings often inspired by the shapes and colors of nature. They may start there but sometimes they take on a life of their own and turn out very different than originally planned. The batiks are created with either Silk Broadcloth or a Silk Jacquard. A wax mixture is used as a resist and vats of dye are used to apply the color, working from the lightest color to the darkest. The distinctive crackle found in batiks is created when the wax cracks and allows dye to penetrate to the fabric. Some of the crackle happens organically and some are manipulated by Toni to enhance the design.
Road Trips of the Northwest. The Columbia Gorge, Glacier Park, Lake CdA, the St Joe River, the Palouse Hills, and just traveling along Northwest Highways all have inspired the many Batiks for this show. The layers of trees, hills and mountains fascinate my artist’s eye and challenge me to try to capture the feelings they evoke.
