Did you try your hand at marbling painting when you were younger?

I remember filling a tub with water, squeezing paint tubes into it, dipping a sheet of paper into the water and moving it around to get that marble effect. It was such fun. The end result was crumpled odd works of art but the beautiful colours creating these gorgeous patterns never failed to put a smile on my face.

This technique is actually used extensively in the commercial and world also – on paper and on fabric.

What Is Marbling?

Marbling is the technique of printing multi-coloured swirled patterns on paper or fabric. The patterns are formed by first floating the colours on the surface of a liquid, and then laying the paper or fabric onto the colours to absorb them.

A Little History

This technique was invented in the 13^th century in Turkistan and then spread to China, India and Persia and Anatolia. Calligraphers and artists used marbling to decorate books, imperial decrees, official correspondence and documents.

The traditional Turkish art of paper marbling is called Ebru, a method of aqueous surface design which is achieved by scattering insoluble paint over dense water to then be transferred on to a sheet of paper. The word Ebru most likely derives from the Persian word abrî meaning “clouded paper.

How They Do It

A surface design technique, the marbled look is traditionally created with the use of floating pigment colours on a combination of water, oil and sizing, and transferring them onto paper or even fabric.

A shallow water bath is filled with oil or a surfactant and pigments are added to it.  These bright pigmented colours are swirled around using a variety of implements like combs, brushes and styluses in both random and systematic patterns. Paper or fabric is laid upon the mixture, removed quickly, and left to dry. The result is an image with the unique patterns created by the artist just moments before.

At Skyy, we love playing with different techniques and using them to showcase our products.  Our Ebru rugs which come in 4 shades of Peach, Yellow Peach, Blue Brown and Green, are an ode to the ancient art of paper marbling. These rugs can infuse your space with splashes of swirling colour and really elevate your style quotient. Shop now and get a bit of this ancient craft into your own contemporary surroundings.

Image credits- www.thehobbymaker.com