For an artistic change of scenery, we all tried our hand at the art of batik, a process of hand-painted wax-resist dying on textile. In Senegal batik can be seen in abundance on fabrics, clothing, and housewares. We worked with a master batik artist in Medina, M. Thier, that had his own retail shop and his former apprentice, M. Magueye Gueye, now an accomplished batik artist in his own right.

Students worked out their own designs, in pencil first, and then painted the non-dye areas with wax melted over small charcoal stoves. When ready, the cloth is placed into the first color of dye and the process repeated for each subsequent color used. Our simple designs with only two colors of dye took an entire day to complete, evidence of the amount of time necessary for intricate designs with multiple colors.

Once the fabric is dyed it has to hang for drying before the next process. Between coats, the students found time to chat, play cards, and interact with the curious "little helpers" that gathered.