As a break from a busy week spent teaching we were kindly invited to try our hands at the traditional art of batik at Jez Look Batiks, a local shop in Matara.Having admired all of the batik work we have seen over the past 7 weeks and purchasing numerous pieces between us in this time, the owner, Jez, allowed us all to design and make our own pieces, and we spent an enjoyable day learning about the batik process.. Having seen her work and that of the ladies who work with her there, it would be fair to say that most of us did not produce anything of the same caliber, but nonetheless, even the less artistic of us came away with a hand-created piece of work of which we are proud, and some of us will be going back to make even more! Arrangements are hopefully now being arranged for Jez to come to England to exhibit some of her batik work back in Durham. Having seen her work first hand and learnt of the hard lives of many of the women she employs, we are all keen to help this plan become a reality and to support her business as much as we can.