Artisans struggle to make every pieces of their craft as identical as possible. But there will always be some differences, however small, noticeable even to untrained eyes. The differences show even in a design that is supposed to be similar in shape or size, such as flower petals.
It is those differences that give the tell tale sign of whether a piece of object was machined or handmade. It is hard to fabricate pieces of object emulating that they were handmade without replicating the same features on every object produced. It is hard, but not impossible. There are methods for introducing that handmade-like irregularities in machine, but still finishing by machine is not quite the same as finishing by man.
For batik cloth, however, it is the differences that are celebrated, appreciated, and give them premium values. The differences between one and the other are not avoided, but are deliberately planned. Thus, no two hand painted batiks are the same in design. There won't be another one like it. It is exclusivity of the ultimate kind. The uniqueness of every piece of batik cloth made in that manner is guaranteed.
This fits human nature that vie for uniqueness, wanting to be different from others. Imagine turning up in a function wearing batik dress or shirt similar to your peers. Men can accept that quite well, but the opposite gender may not tolerate that. With the latest ruling that all government officials have to put on batik shirt every Thursday in Malaysia, the odds of striking an exact match is high. The way out is to opt for hand painted batiks.
Those artisans know psychology and apply them in their crafts. But, how do they come up with different, unique designs?
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