A process-based artist, King uses beeswax, dyes, inks and pencil on natural fabrics – a similar process to the ancient craft of batik.
Traditional batik is highly patterned and intricate and follows strict rules. It originated in Indonesia and requires the use of a lot of tools.
“Mine is much more contemporary, so I still use the wax and the dyes and the multiple layers, but instead of removing the hot wax with boiling water, I use my iron ... I’ve gone through a lot of op-shop irons,” King says.
Her exploration of using wax and dye on fabric started during lockdown when she decided to entertain the children via art together around the kitchen table.
“I already knew how to make art with beeswax, so I found some dyes and fabrics and heated the wax, and we just started creating.
“I use really big brushes to spread the heated wax. I like the brushstrokes and the serendipity of how the wax moves and the dye reacts.”
For her large abstract pieces, she begins with a sketch, then adds the dye first, followed by the wax.
The pieces represent motherhood and feature a mother figure leaning over and talking to her children.
“I’ve purposefully chosen quite childlike gestural marks to represent the chaos of childhood and the experience of being a mum to young children. It conveys the ups and downs, the moments of love and joy, of busyness and calm.”
A naturally creative person, King did a design degree at Massey University, where she took a paper on dyeing. She has also done several batik workshops in Bali where she developed her skills.
“If you are a creative person, you can’t not do something. I never see it as a chore – it’s my creative outlet, and it’s all linked together with the beekeeping business and the fact I have access to unlimited amounts of beeswax.”
She has been quietly chipping away at the works over about four months in a little studio at her Wainui home.
“I often work when the kids are in bed or [during] the weekends.”
King took part in last year’s She Shed Tour and was pleasantly surprised at how quickly her works sold.
Since then, she has produced commissions through word of mouth.
Her first solo exhibition is eagerly anticipated.
