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Musings of a Novice Paper Marbler
I ha d no idea what paper marbling involves even though I did my homework and read about the subject on a Turkish website. Fortunately, the information was translated into English. I also read our workshop’s supply list, and the last item on it was an adventurous spirit. Since I was picturing rolling marbles around on paper, I thought that this was a good item for me to bring...the adventurous spirit, that is; I left my marbles at home. So, Saturday, April 14, 2007, I drove off to the wilds of Escondido to Trinity Episcopal Church.
As I arrived, the instructor Todd Jameson (left) and a team of adventurous volunteers were setting up the workstations. I would soon learn that there were “prep”, wet, and dry stations for this art process.
Paper marbling is actually an ancient eastern art that began centuries ago in China and was developed extensively in Turkey. It involves spattering paint mixed with ox gall (oxalic acid) on a carrageen solution in a special tray. The paper is treated with an alum solution (aluminum sulfate). Once the paint surface is completed the paper is laid on top of the paint and a chemical reaction adheres the paint to the paper.
While understanding the basic set up seems to require a chemistry degree, the process of making the paper itself must be endowed to genies and other magical Turkish creatures. (Don’t confuse these guys with the snack fairy. She is in a completely different union.) When I applied paint and created a design the outcome was decidedly different from what I expected. What you see on top of the solution is not necessarily what you get on your paper, unless you are genie, of course.
But I brought an adventurous spirit so I had to keep trying and learning. One of the best ways to learn was to watch my fellow workshop members create their papers. I admired the meticulous step by step work of those who thoughtfully applied paint, raked and combed it, and then smoothly applied their paper. Those of us who were newbies learned to apply more paint and use a steady hand to create designs with the tools.
By late morning we could tell this process was addictive. Twelve of us shared four marbling stations, and we lined up to make new creations again and again. We used a variety of c olors from indigo to lavender and earthy reds to bright yellow. Several of us experimented with colored and black paper; usually second tries brought brighter, contrasting results.
Todd demonstrated the basic technique for applying paint to paper and then showed us how to create some of the classic designs associated with marbled paper. They include the most basic pattern “stone,” intricate combed patterns like “leaves” and “English Nonpareil”, and the “Spanish wave” where the artist rocks the paper in the solution to imprint a diagonal wave pattern that appears like a background. A variation of the wave is created on rolled and folded paper.
Suminagashi (photos right) is the Japanese art of marbling. It inv olves applying sumi (ink), a surfactant, and Japanese marbling paint to water with the points of several brush. The surfactant (Todd used “Photo Flow”) causes the ink to spread bull’s eye fashion in the water. Disturbing the water by blowing or using a fan creates an eerie spider web or topo-map effect. The artist applies the paper as in the Turkish method of marbling, rinses it and is rewarded with a soft, black-line, marbled sheet.
I learned that acrylic and oil paints can be used for marbling, and fabric and clothing can be used in place of paper. Todd said we could do this type of marbling right in the kitchen. Sounds really messy but good…kind of like a tasty cheeseburger with less calori es of course.
When I went home I was amazed to find marbled paper right in my home. I had learned that I could find information on the internet about this paper art (see http://geleneksel-ebru.com/ , http://marbling.com/ and http://suminagashi.com/ ). Who would have guessed that besides my travel coffee mug (marbled paper by Yvonne Perez-Collins), my Kleenex boxes all have the feather design, I think. (Check out Galen Berry’s Marble Art online.) I have decided that I haven’t lost my marbles after all; I now have a number of colorful marbled papers to use for backgrounds, books, cards and crafts. Best of all I know what to ask for if I ever find a genie in a bottle; she will know where I can find the ox gall.
By Linda West
Note: This article and accompanying photos are from the April workshop. Todd taught the same workshop for SDFC in March with different participants.
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