9 Mei | Batik Special | Embrace your Spirit Animal
Step into the world of Peranakan Batik and discover the ancient art of wax-resist dyeing in this immersive one-day workshop at Weaving Worlds Studio. Guided by special guest teacher Shuen-Li Spirit, you will explore heritage, symbolism, sustainability, and bold self-expression — all through the meditative practice of batik.
This workshop is not only about technique. It is about storytelling, ancestry, and connecting with your Spirit Animal in this year of New Beginnings — the Year of the Fire Horse, a time to be bold.
Join us for a full day of colour, wax and storytelling in this special Batik workshop. Guided by a guest teacher rooted in Peranakan Batik heritage, you will be introduced to traditional canting tools passed down from her grandmother, and explore the art of drawing with hot beeswax on fabric. Through this meditative process of wax-resist dyeing, you will create your own textile artwork inspired by your Spirit Animal — a symbol of strength, intuition and bold new beginnings.
Working on reused hotel bedsheets and using organic beeswax and vibrant dyes from Indonesia, this workshop embraces both sustainability and tradition. You will experiment with flowing colours, layered transparencies and the beautiful unpredictability of water and dye. Whether your design is realistic or symbolic, detailed or intuitive, you will be guided step by step in translating your vision into fabric. At the end of the day, you will take home your finished batik artwork, framed in an embroidery hoop — a personal piece infused with story, heritage and intention.
This first Batik workshop of the Fire Horse Year is not just about creating your spirit animal. It's about allowing those animal attributes to birth through you as you overcome fear of mistakes, judgement or any form of discomfort. That in itself is healing. And when you heal, you are healing generations ~ more of what this brave new world needs.
We warmly invite you to spend a day slowing down, working with your hands, and connecting to colour, culture and your own creative spirit.
Who is Shuen-Li Spirit?
Shuen-Li Spirit is a Singaporean-born Batik artist with Indonesian roots from her grandmother, who raised her and passed down her Peranakan Batik heritage. Shuen is a former visual arts secondary school teacher in Singapore after graduating from the Nanyang Technological University. Her legal name 'Spirit' is derived from her spirit animal ~ a now deceased South African black leopard that was rescued in 2007, the year before she migrated to Indonesia to discover more about her roots. In 2015, she migrated to the Netherlands to live with her Dutch partner, and has been giving Batik workshops to adults and children for 10 years.
Coming from a lineage of silenced mothers and daughters in a society where women were forbidden to outshine men, the recent death of her grandmother was the deepest grief she ever experienced. Yet one in which gave her the greatest purpose of her life: To Create, To be Seen, To be Heard.
Praktische informatie
Batik Special | EMBRACE YOUR SPIRIT ANIMAL
Datum & Tijd:
9 mei 2026 | 11.00 – 17.00 uur
Locatie:
Weefstudio Weaving Worlds
NDSM Plein 21, Amsterdam
Kosten:
€150,-
Inclusief materiaal, koffie en thee
Deelnemers:
Max. 10 en minimaal 6 deelnemers
Docent: Shuen-Li Spirit
