About Leslie
Leslie Broude, Keeper Of The Rainbow
For over 35 years I have been making BATIKED cotton clothing under the name KEEPER OF THE RAINBOW BATIK. I learned the BATIK process while studying textile design at UCLA, from where I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
BATIK is a wax resist method of dying designs into cloth. Each garment starts out blank white and goes through a multi-step process of alternating applications of hot liquid wax and color...then wax off the color to prevent it from getting dyed, etc. At the end, the wax is removed and you have a soft garment that is a piece of wearable art. Because the design is dyed into the fabric, you cannot feel anything on the surface as is the case with silkscreening or fabric painting.
The designs in my garments are my own original artwork...except for a few Native American stylized designs that I have used. The themes pretty much reflect my relationship with the natural world that surrounds me. Being a dedicated surfer, I have a lot of ocean related designs, and I also have a lot of celestial inspired motifs. I love stars and use them a lot!! Over the years, I have learned to listen to what my customers would like to have and then let it settle in my mind until a design shows itself to me.
KEEPER OF THE RAINBOW is a line of unique, handcrafted garments...even the colors I dye are my own dye recipes and not just colors out of a dye jar. The dyes I use are non-toxic, but very colorfast and yield true, beautiful shades. Due to the lengthy process that BATIK entails, there are very few people in this country that do it.
