How to Marble Papers - Basic Instructions

Hand  Marbled Papers – Various Techniques 

After showing several of my greeting cards using various items collaged onto hand-marbled bases (http://www.gather.com/viewImage.jsp?fileId=3096224744212874 and following images), Trine Meyer Vogsland and Julya P. expressed interest in knowing how to do the marbling. It has been a number of years since I have actually done any but the method I used is basically the following.

First clear a large enough area to marble the paper and afterward to lay your marbled papers to dry flat.  Old newspapers or towels may be quite useful to cover a bed or sofa and if necessary perhaps put a plastic garbage bag or plastic sheet under those.  It is important to do this first because your hands will be full once you get going. J

The Vessel you use to contain the liquid bath (explained later) and pigments can be quite shallow and only needs to be large enough for the papers you intend to marble although you can do more than one piece of paper at a time. 

When I first learned about the technique a friend tipped me off to the fact that the door from an old flat fronted refrigerator is perfect for this.  Often they are left at the curb for pick-up and for safety’s sake the door has already been removed.  Remove the handle, gasket and all screws and/or bolts and seal the holes with epoxy glue. A refrigerator with freezer on top can supply two doors for really decent trays.

For the first experiments, a rectangular plastic tub is adequate but if you have previously used it for dishwashing make sure that you clean it well to remove any grease and then rinse well, particularly if you have used a powder cleanser. 

The next step is to prepare your liquid bath and depending on which colloidal suspension you intend to work with (or have at hand) you may have to make this step the first one and a day or two in advance.

The colloidal suspension is used to provide a bath on which the pigment will float in an extremely thin layer – preferable only one cell/unit thick.  There are quite a number of liquids which will suffice and you may discover others beyond those three below.

1) Leftover pre-pasted wallpaper torn into strips and left to soak overnight will provide a good bath if you use enough wallpaper to water volume.  When the paste has soaked off remove the paper and add more if necessary.This can be saved in the refrigerator but will go moldy if left out.

2) Colloidal oatmeal powder which can be purchased in a pharmacy is excellent but I think might prove to be an expensive product.

3) Store brand equivalents of Metamucil will make up a really good bath and when bought in the largest quantity available is reasonably priced.

I have been trying to think of how to describe the desirable consistency for your bath and so far have not come up with an adequate way.  I just tried out my Metamucil substitute and discovered that you will need at least one teaspoon per cup of water in order for the pigment to float and different pigments may require more.  Remember that the bath only needs to be a shallow one so you won’t be using up too much and in contrast with many art supplies this is relatively cheap so use enough to get good results.  With all the above methods it is important to make sure that the granules have completely dissolved or you will get some of them clinging to your papers.

Next you take your pigment which can be taken from any of the art supplies you already have on hand – oils (probably thinned down); acrylics diluted with water; inks or pure pigment; etc..  Each of these will yield different and pleasing results, I am sure, but I have only tried acrylics and inks myself.  I recommend that you start out using a maximum of three colours at once as you will have better control over the movements of the pigment over the surface this way.

The pigment can be placed on the surface of the bath with a small brush, the end of a straw, swizzle stick or similar item.  You can place the colour with care to achieve a controlled result or experiment with dripping it into place.  You want it to stay on the surface though.

At this stage you can gently place some papers onto the surface to see what the results will be if you choose or you can take an object like a swizzle stick, old comb or fork to gently swirl the pigments into pleasing shapes before going ahead.

You will learn which papers tend to curl during this process in which case it is a good idea to dampen them on both sides before putting them onto the surface of the bath.

The last step is to remove your papers from the bath and set them flat to dry.  You will find that care is necessary in doing this as the pigments may flow down the surface of the paper if held on end for any length of time and this may spoil your result – on the other hand you may find that it produces interesting designs.  The papers should not be left on the bath long enough for them to become saturated or soggy.

You can continue to achieve interesting designs by gently moving the pigment again and putting in more papers, but bear in mind that each successive time the results will be muddier and muddier. If you don’t swirl the pigments much you will be able to continue as long as there is any pigment to adhere to the surface of the paper.

If you would like to keep on experimenting, the pigment from the first session should be absorbed with paper toweling so that you can start again with a clean bath.  You will probably only be limited by the space you have available to dry your work.

Try other methods to move the pigment around - such as blowing on the surface, gently shaking the container or jarring it with the heel of your hand.

Clean up:  Remove any pigment floating on the surface if you intend to save the bath or even if you plan to pour it away.  None of the ingredients I mentioned above should harm the environment if the pigment is removed.

Consider these steps guidelines only. Once you have tried it as I have suggested, you will develop your own techniques.  Have fun and I look forward to seeing what you produce on the Gather pages.

Suggestions for other items to marble:

Many small boxes you get as packaging for products can be gently pried apart and the interior surface marbled. When they are dry glue them back together with the artwork outside.  They make nice gift boxes.  How about trying this on tissue boxes?

Try the technique on swatches of fabric.  If you see something you would like to make clothing from you could switch to fabric dyes.

Eggs (see third URL below)

With practice you can become quite expert at controlling the technique and knowing in advance what the results will be.  You will even be able to make the exquisite marbled designs which are found on the endpapers of limited edition books.  There are books available with step by step instructions on how to make your own tools and create really intricate work.  I see that the one I have must be out of print but there are two available from Amazon:

 Marbled Designs: A Complete Guide to Fifty-Five Elegant Patterns (Hardcover)
by Patty Schleicher (Author), Mimi Schleicher (Author) ISBN: 0-937274-69-0 

Another is: Marbling Techniques: How to Create Traditional and Contemporary Designs on Paper and Fabric (Practical Craft Books) (Paperback)
by Wendy Addison Medeiros (Author)  ISBN not found 

Another similar book is due to be available at Amazon later in July and I am sure that others will be found at craft stores, book stores or libraries. 

A quick search on the Internet using the search term ‘Marbling techniques’ yielded many sites and many techniques completely new to me. Some of these are more appropriate to use with limited space or if you wish to have children participating.  You might find you prefer their methods. You will notice that some of these instructions are not for marbling paper per se, but cover the creation of a marbled look in ‘faux finish’ techniques, but you will find enough of the sites you are looking for. Some of the ones I looked at are: 

http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/marbling.htm

http://www.suminagashi.com/ 

http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/coloringeggs/l/bldeggmbl.htm 

http://www.kid-at-art.com/htdoc/lesson39.html 

http://www.rexart.com/appmarbling.html 

In conclusion I hope this explanation has been helpful and if any of this is not clear please do ask me to explain.    

Happy Marbling,

Jann