Ubud, Bali, Indonesia: The director of Gaya where Thomas is taking his intensive pottery course introduced us to this incredible place. Located about 1/2 hour outside of Ubud, this facility employs about 50 people who produce natural plant dyes (primarily indigo) and hand stamp all the fabrics on their way to becoming batik.

The indigo leaves come from a local source and are soaked & fermented on site. Huge vats of indigo baths line the facility, and rudimentary but complex pulley systems hang the fabrics in various stages of dipping. For the deepest, richest blue, many of these fibers will be dipped 15+ times in the indigo baths.

Around the corner from the indigo baths was the stamping room. Hundreds & hundreds of wood and copper stamps lined the walls. Each of them had been made at the facility and was completely unique. Seeing something of this scale was breathtaking since I’d been working with just about 15 stamps at my other batik studio. Inspired & excited, I asked to come back and work on my own the next day. Does this count as an internship??