Marbling
Marbling
Marbling involves floating pigments on a bath thickened with carragheen seaweed. The image is lifted from the surface of the bath onto a sheet of paper. My work is influenced by the three great marbling traditions of the world. European marbling was mainly used in fine book binding. Ebru, or Turkish marbling produces figurative images of flowers. Japanese marbling, Suminagashi, originated in the 12th century, and produced soft almost ethereal patterns for Imperial documents. Suminagashi is believed to be the source from which other types of marbling evolved.
Much of my recent work has been based on a fusion of traditional European marbling with Suminagashi. The pigments are applied to the bath in concentric circles, resulting in images reminiscent of maps, islands, contours, ripples on water. The paper is used to produce a unique range of paper jewellery, greetings cards and bold, graphic wall art.
Marbling workshops are available for groups of up to 8 people. Please telephone to discuss your requirements.
Video credit to Justine at Cariad Glass
