#marbling process

The marbling process has always been fascinating to me. Splattering paint onto a tray of thickened water may seem an uncontrollable way to create art but that is exactly why my ADD loves it. The process is quick & easy to learn and the end result is uniquely beautiful and boredom dares not enter your mind while you marble. The variety of patterns that can be created will insure that each time you marble you will enjoy a new experience even with years of marbling behind you.

There are multitudes of items that can be marbled: paper, wood, gourds & seed pods, paper mache ('cause it's paper), eggs, pottery, etc. Basically if an object will absorb water it will absorb the marbled paint. Fabric is a great example, all sorts of fabric can be used. I use cotton and silk most of the time. I also prefer to demonstrate the marbling process with fabric since it easier to hang the fabric to dry, or leave bunched up & wet, than it is to lay out paper sheets to dry - paper takes up more post-marbling space than fabric does.

Materials needed are fairly simple: water that has been thickened with carrageenan or methocel (this is your sizing), a tray to pour the size into, brushes to splatter your paint with, paint to be splattered, tools to manipulate the paint and material to print the paint onto. Fabric is not shown. What is also not shown is the Alum, or aluminum sulfate?, that has been applied to the fabric (acts as a mordant) and the Ox Gall that has been added to the paint (which spreads the paint).

I wont kid you, this can get a bit messy. My demo setup usually has a shower curtain or two lining the perimeter and dropcloth to soak up dripped water or paint.

Here I am splattering paint onto the size. I have small bundles of broomstraw bundled up in small paintbrush sizes. These brushes are dipped into the paint and then struck against a stick or your hand to force the paint to spritz onto the paper in tiny droplets. The more & tinier the drops, the better. You can also use eye droppers, skewers and fine brushes to precisely place paint down but usually the initial background has been splattered on. The paint I use is acryllic. It dries fast and can be heat set into the fabric. Oil paints, gouache and inks can also be used but I have not yet. Paint is stirred, not shaken, to mix and then small amounts are set aside for use. Then Ox Gall is added as needed to make the paint spread out across the thick water. I try the paint without any gall/bile to see how it floats & spreads. If paint sinks, I thin with water. Once it floats I adjust the amount it spreads out by adding drops of the ox gall/bile. Ox gall affects the surface tension of the paint mix so that it spreads thinly across the water and also resists mixing with other colors. That is how you can get soooo many striations in a marbled product. By alternating dark & light colors you can get nice contrasts on the perimeters of each drop of paint.

At some point the size will not accept any more paint, it won't spread and starts to blotch up. This is when you decide how much to manipulate the tray of floating paint. The initial paint splatter creates what is called a Stone Pattern. It is the basis for most patterns but beautiful on its own. You could print (lay the fabric or paper onto the size to absorb the paint) now or manipulate further. During demos I often say "If you like the way this looks take a picture because I'm about to mess it up". With a simple, single bamboo skewer I rake the Stone Pattern into a Gel-Get Pattern (to-fro) in preparation for more manipulation or to print as is ... decision, decisions.

Now the high tech comes into play. Rakes and Combs are tools, that you usually make yourself, made of wood and nails. It can be as simple as cardstock paper with toothpicks glued onto it or wooden yardsticks with bamboo skewers. While quick & easy is okay you will find that a nice sturdy rake is worth making, especially since it only involves drilling evenly spaced pilot holes into a strip of lumber (1"x2") and tapping finishing nails into it. The nails have to be long enough to rake into your size. Variations of spacing provide variations in patterns so several rakes are of benefit. Rakes & Combs can also be purchased online, as with all marbling materials.

After raking or combing a pattern into the floating paint a visual check for air bubbles or specks on the water surface is done. When ready to print it helps to have an assistant when lowering the fabric onto the size. Usually the middle is lowered in gently and then the edges lowered till tray level. The release happens before fingers make contact so not too messy there. As the fabric floats I check for air pockets or edges that failed to contact the painted water. Once I am happy with saturation I apply scrap newspaper or cloth around the print in order to soak up excess paint. This keeps the back of my print clean and reduces the amount of post-print cleanup the tray will need. Sometimes you can create bookmarks, etc in the side channels to soak up the unused paint.

Okay ... So I put this blog down for a bit and missed a pic or two but needed to wrap it up ... So after repeat processes of splattering paint, swirling in designs, printing, skimming, etc you end up with a stack of paper or fabric or ?? Here I have many cotton bandanas, there I have paper mâché boxes, gourds and more ... Check it out. I will post more marbling soon.