The Turn of the Tide
Seasons, stories and other wonders...
Marbling
Marbling
From its beginnings as suminagashi or 'floating ink' practiced by Japanese monks in the 11th century, the practice traveled and evolved into Ebru or 'clouds on water' in 15th century Turkey. By the 17th century, marbling had become established in Europe. Guilds of craftsmen made marbled paper to embellish books, and used marbling to prevent counterfeit and fraud on official documents and accounts, and to decorate buildings.
Although most commonly used on paper, you can marble any porous surface such as material and leather, ceramic and wood. At some festivals you can even get yourself marbled with UV paint!
I have been marbling paper for several years now, growing in confidence and skill. It takes hours to set up all the kit so I don't marble that often, but when I do I'm there all day, utterly absorbed in swirling paint on the surface of the water and then capturing that moment forever.
I will soon be offering a selection of papers for sale on Etsy which can be used for bookbinding, cardmaking and a range of other crafts.
Just like Cyanotype prints, every time you marble a piece of paper the results will be unique. Some very skilled marblers can recreate an original paper, to restore a book for example. But even then, each paper is unique like a fingerprint.
I am grateful to have attended several courses run by the wonderful marbler Lucy McGrath at Marmor Paperie. Her favourite pattern is 'feather'. My favourite is nonpareil with swirls.
I also recently had the opportunity to fulfil a dream and learn more at the studio of Giulio Giannini e Figlio in Florence where I was taught by the 6th and 7th generation of a family that have been marbling since 1856. My previous experience had mostly been with acrylic paint. This workshop gave me the opportunity to use the more traditional paints created with pigment powders, cellulose and ox gall.
