The Artist and Batik:

Liz Sykes has lived and worked on Islay for over thirty years. Her studio is in Islay House Square Bridgend, close to the site of the old central village of Kilarrow. She lives just outside Port Charlotte, on the west side of Lochindaal. She is an artist in batik, which originated in the Far East about 2000 years ago, and is a process for dyeing cloth in which hot wax is used to resist the dye. Batik

is commonly used to create designs on cloth,

but Liz uses it as a fine art medium.

She draws the picture onto white silk and paints hot wax over those parts of the picture which are to remain white. The silk is then immersed in a dye-bath, where only the unwaxed parts of the picture take up the colour. After drying, the parts to remain this first colour are waxed before the picture is immersed in the next colour. This process may be repeated many times to produce the finished picture. During the process, the wax can be cracked, allowing dye to seep through and produce the pattern of fine lines characteristic of batiks. The wax is finally removed with a hot iron and blotting paper.

The Studio, Gallery and Islay House Square

The Studio and Gallery are in the old Joiner’s Workshop in Islay House Square, Bridgend. Here you will find a massive collection of Islay art, with over 150 pictures available as prints.

Visitors are very welcome. You can frequently see batik being made in the studio; if you want to make sure, phone us before you come (01496 810147). Liz is also a very experienced picture framer, offering a general picture framing service, and all of our picture framing is done here too, continuing a tradition of hundreds of years for this building.

Original silk batiks are hung on the old stone walls of the gallery, and we make prints of them. And there are beautiful original scarves and ties, together with many other batik products. Naturally, all of this is for sale! However, there is no pressure to buy and you are genuinely welcome if you just want to look around and, maybe, have a very good cup of tea or coffee.

Islay House Square was the centre for the Home Farm and tradesmen of Islay Estates Company, which still owns it. It was built around 1770 and has been renovated as studios and workshops. Liz’s studio and gallery were in the first of these, and other workshops are occupied by The Islay Quilters, Billy Muir, a joiner and cabinet maker, the Islay Family History Society,  which assists those researching their family history on the island, the brewery of the Islay Ales Company, Sue Wood, a  producer of chocolate confectionery (Islay Chocolate Company), Janet Ferguson (Janet Bunty) running a laundry, Mark Unsworth, a photographer at Islay Studios and Ma McKinnon's Marmalade.

How to get here

Islay is the southernmost of the Scottish Hebrides. You can travel by Caledonian MacBrayne ferry from Kennacraig on Kintyre, or by Loganair  (now a Flybe franchise) from Glasgow Airport.

To find us, look for the “Craft Workshops” sign just outside Bridgend, on the road to Port Askaig.