Overmarble

One of the best things about marbling is that there is an easy way to fix a mistake or a "bad" or "ugly" piece...thanks to the overmarble. Overmarbling is a technique that sounds just as it is--you marble over another pattern. It has become one of my favorite ways of "cheating" to save a piece of work. I overmarble most often when a piece doesn't turn out the way I want it to (for example, the colors don't work with the design) or there is something wrong with it (such as when an air bubble gets trapped as I lay the paper down into the bath leaving behind a big white gap) or, as with the example below, is just plain hideous. The piece below started out with bulls eyes that not only were in what turned out to be obnoxious colors (those rounded-square things in magenta and light pink and I think a sage or olive green) but also got away from me (the bulls eyes just kept getting bigger and bigger). I didn't realize how atrocious the piece was until I pulled the design off the bath and saw it on paper (the bath can be deceptive that way)...and then I proceeded to nearly threw up. So I let the paper dry, re-alumed it, and then overmarbled a pretty stone pattern in soft colors. I was quite pleased with the final result (below is just a one-quarter section of the total piece). While I don't think it's my best work, it's definitely an improvement over the original piece and will be lovely as a cover or signature wrap for a journal! Lately, however, I've been overmarbling ON PURPOSE...not just to save a piece but as an intentional action. My very first marbling teacher, Tom Leech, is known for his overmarbles and they are quite fantastic. You can see an example of his work here. My overmarbles are a little less planned (or, to put it another way, less well thought out) than his but that's only because I'm just beginning to see the technique in a different light. Here is one of my recent loosely premeditated overmarbles:

The base for this piece was a simple stone pattern in three very light colors. I then overmarbled with a bolder, sweeping freehand design using brighter colors. I find the end result to be fluid and striking. It's one of those pieces that would be beautiful framed.

Palm

I forgot to mention in my previous post that the Flame pattern is a variation of the Palm pattern (which is also called Fern), pictured above. I made this piece in my studio last month when I was showing my friend, Ann, how to do it. Palm is pretty (some say it looks like the top of a pineapple), but I'm sure you can see why I love Flame more...so much movement. It sort of reminds me of kelp swaying back and forth with the swells of the ocean. I half expect a clown fish to come darting out of the paper. Plus, the name of the pattern, Flame, sounds like me.

There are four steps you go through to make Palm or Flame: stone, get gel, chevron, and then a final raking to complete to pattern (straight for Palm, a slight S-curve for Flame). Anytime you have multiple steps like this, it complicates things a bit because it takes a while to complete the full pattern. The longer your design sits on the bath, the more likely dust will become an issue--it settles on the top of your bath and causes little blank holes or specs on your final piece. But for me, I really enjoy doing step upon step upon step upon step. I find it relaxing as well as intensely personal. With so many steps, I have a lot invested in the pattern--mentally, physically, and emotionally. I guess one could compare it to kneading dough for bread or pasta. And what's better than homemade bread or pasta?

Flame

This is one of my favorite marbling patterns to do. It's called "Flame" and you can see why. This particular piece, which I am really proud of, was made during my marbling and bookbinding class at the John C. Campbell Folk School. Don't ask me what colors I used. My guess would be Payne's Gray, Sap Green, Titan Buff, and maybe Quinacridone (aka "quin") Burnt Orange (all Golden Fluid Acrylics)...but that's just a guess. What I do know is that I marbled on Canson Ingres #48 Cream paper...a paper I was introduced to in class and simply fell in LOVE with (despite a weird texture thing...the horizontal "alleys"...which you can see in the above scan but not in real life). Specifically, I swoon over the cream color and the "antique" affect it has on the overall look and feel.

I'm in the process of coming up with a "brand" for my marbling work. I'm thinking of using this design, and even this particular piece, as part of a logo. I've modified my blog masthead as part of a test drive. What do you think?

The Finished Goods: Not a lot of need for words here. The photos speak for themselves!

And now for a few close-ups of my finished books:

So that's that. Pretty impressive body of work, eh?! Everyone was so creative, talented, and enthusiastic. The room was bursting at the seams with excitement and fun. I really wished all of us lived closer to one another so we could do another round of marbling and bookmaking together. Perhaps a reunion down the road someday...

Tomorrow I'll post photos from around the school grounds, my cabin and the woods around it, Gwen's Friday night gig, and other miscellaneous shots.

And On To Bookmaking

After two and a half days of marbling morning, noon, and night, it was time to move on to two and a half days of bookmaking morning, noon, and night! And despite the around-the-clock studio time, we did not make all those books pictured above! Our bookmaking instructor, Bob, brought them along for inspiration (for us, not for him...he's clearly inspired enough!). I'm pretty sure, however, everyone in class would have loved to have tried to make all those. Once we were in bookmaking mode, there was no stopping us.

The second half of the week was spent making books using the wonderful marbled papers we made the first half of the week. Our marbling instructor, Pat, had us marbling on all types of papers (heavyweight, lightweight, colored, textured) so we had a wide variety of materials to choose from. Bob supplemented with some lovely Japanese and Canson papers we could coordinate with as well as embellishments (beads and things) to decorate the books with.

The first book we made was a simple pamphlet stitch notepad. It was called a "dressed book" and was in the shape of a kimono. Totally cute. And you should have seen how people embellished their works (photos coming tomorrow!). While this was quite easy to make, it was the perfect starter book since the pamphlet stitch is the foundation to making many styles of books. The next book we made was an accordion book with a concertina inside. Again, the accordion fold is a foundation technique in bookmaking. Once we knew how to pamphlet stitch and accordion fold, we were off to the races.

We proceeded to learn how to make a "spine surprise book" (my FAVORITE...I love, love, love this book), a four-signature longstitch book (also top on my list of favorites), a box book, an origami book (FUN!), and a book brooch (yes, jewelry!) as well as piano hinge and cigar band closures and paper beads.

One of the huge differences in the energy in the room between our marbling and bookmaking sessions was that marbling is physically exhaustive and bookmaking is mentally exhaustive. In marbling, there is a lot of walking and moving involved...moving around the tank, walking from tank to sink and from sink to drying rack. And then there's the pushing and the pulling of the tools to the laying down and lifting of the paper in and out of the tank. With bookmaking, there's constant measuring (and obligatory double and triple checking); the need to "see" how something is going to work before actually making it; making sure you have all your pieces/elements cut out, lined up, and ready to go before even embarking on the actual assembly of the book; and trying to interpret wicked technical directions into actual action. I'm not saying the mental and physical differences of the two practices is harder or better...just that it was very much a SHIFT in how we approached the day.

I took a ton more photos of people working, measuring, cutting, measuring, gluing, cutting, measuring, embellishing, and stitching but the photos above pretty much tell the story and I think you get the point.

Tomorrow, I'll post photos showing off the results of all our marbling and bookmaking. Stunning stuff, I tell you. People in the class were so talented and creative...it was just a week filled with artistic gems!

It's Been A Long Time

And I have no excuses. My priorities shifted a bit over the summer and blogging just fell to the bottom of the list. At first I felt bad...and then I realized I don't regret doing any of the other things that were higher priorities--like gardening (my veganic garden is going gangbusters), marbling, cooking, entertaining, hiking/kayaking/surfing with my mom while she was visiting for a week, going to outdoor concerts, and spending A LOT of time on an exciting new project I hope to be able to talk about soon!

What prompted me to blog again was the wonderful time I just had at the Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, N.C. I took a week-long marbling and book making class that was outstanding. The entire experience was nothing but positive: I loved the Folk School grounds; the administration was easy to work with; my instructors were top notch; and the participants in the class were so friendly and had wonderful senses of humor! I'm not sure I could have planned a better curriculum or hoped for a better result. I'm walking away from this experience feeling more confident in my marbling and bookmaking skills...from troubleshooting and having a deeper understanding of both practices to experimenting and learning new techniques. I feel like I've gained 20 years of experience in one week...and I have since both my instructors have that many years (and then some) under their belts in their respective fields.

I'm breaking this story up into four posts, each with their own photo gallery: one on marbling, one on bookbinding, one showing off the works of art created by participants, and one with miscellaneous stuff.

I'll start with the marbling. Here are just a few marbling highlights:

• I tried suminagashi for the first time and loved it! Suminagashi is a Japanese style of marbling where you work on a plain water bath with watercolors. I would argue it's nothing like ebru, the Turkish style of marbling I do where you work on a carrageenan bath with acrylics. The best way to describe the difference is by saying suminagashi is to ebru what surfing is to water skiing...both happen on water and that's about where the similarities begin and end. I see suminagashi becoming a part of my practice, especially if I purse bookmaking.
• I was so inspired by the other people in class. Some came not having marbled ever in their lives while others had as much experience as me (and maybe even more). It was a butt-load of fun and incredibly energizing to watch the new people fall head-over-heals for the practice and ooooooh and aaaaaaah the same way I did the very first time I was exposed to marbling. And I loved watching the experienced students at work--I often found myself wondering over to their tanks and looking over their shoulders as they worked their magic. So inspiring.
• I was given permission, much to my relief, to give up trying to find the perfect red acrylic paint to marble with. It doesn't exist. BUT MARBLING ON RED PAPER IS SPELLBINDING. I'm ordering a ton of red paper as you read this.
• My Ah-ha Moment: Every professional marbler has his/her way of doing things. The more classes I take from different artists, the more exposure I get to these differences, and the more OPTIONS I have for incorporating or ignoring these differences into my own practice. This is what is going to make me the best marbler I can be.

Now on to the photos. I've also added a few instructional videos at the end of the post for those interested in seeing how marbling works or those students wanting  a refresher. At the very least, check out the first one (Flame pattern) where Pat, our marbling instructor for the week, pays me one helluva compliment that's had me on cloud nine for DAYS (and probably for the next few months).

Tomorrow I'll be back with the bookmaking write-up and photos!

Enjoy.

(To manually advance the slideshow, hover over the photo and a box will pop up. Click on the square button in the middle and the slideshow will stop automatically advancing. Then click on the arrow buttons to move forward or backward at your own pace.)

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Spreading the Love

Part II of Other Things I've Been Doing of Late: the Awesome Creative Session. My friend Ann (the one I mentioned yesterday who recommended the bookmaking book to me) recently took a HUGE leap and become 100% pro-actively unemployed like me (she was 50% pro-actively unemployed up until then). This means I have another friend I can play with during the weekday (because, as always, it's all about me). Creative, positive, energetic, and outgoing, Ann is simply fun to be around. Add to that list, "avid traveler" and "childfree," and you know what that means to me! I met her four years ago at the Peach Tree Pottery Holiday Show where I was selling my Hope's Flame candles...though it seems like I've known her for a much longer time. She's THAT kind of person--the one that just fits into your life like a pair of comfy jeans.

She was at my house for a dinner party one night in December when I showed her my marbled papers. She expressed serious interest in learning about the art form and I suggested she have a studio day with me where she can roll up her sleeves and give it a shot herself. She happily accepted the invitation.

A month later, when weather conditions were just about perfect (low temps, high humidity), I told her to get her butt over to my place, wear clothes she didn't mind getting paint on, and bring any acrylic paints and special paper she wanted to use.

The day before her visit, I went about cleaning up the studio (which is also my candle space/laundry space/storage space/oh...and garage space!), preparing the size for the bath and the alum for the paper, setting out the marbling tools, and prepping the work area. Normally, I find this process tedious simply because I'm so anxious to get marbling. But somehow knowing Ann was going to be in the studio with me made the work seem interesting. I knew she would want to know the "why" and "how" behind the marbling process and so it was an exercise of mental preparation as much as physical preparation for me. I even got out my notes from my very first marbling workshop to refresh my memory with instructional words that describe what my body now intuitively does. I felt like a teacher preparing for the first day of school after summer break.

Our marbling day far exceeded my expectations. Sure, I knew we would have fun together in the studio, regardless if Ann fell in love with marbling as much as I did the first time. But I didn't expect Ann to GET IT--the "it" being what marbling feels like from head to toe and inside-out--which she did so quickly. I didn't expect her to embrace (or, more accurately, fall head-over-heels for) the traditional designs as much as she did, which made me see them in a whole new light. I didn't expect her to RESIST free form as much as she did, which made me see my work (I love the free form!) in a whole new light. And I certainly didn't expect her to feel EXACTLY the same way I always do after a day in the studio--EXHAUSTED and SPENT and A LITTLE OUT OF IT--but she did.

Marbling is not for the weak. Or the timid. It is a full-day commitment (no balking or you waste expensive size). It is a constant strain on your creative mind (each paper requires a new design and new colors...even if you're trying to replicate the same look). Your concentration is tested (how is a color reacting in the bath, what color did you put down first last time, which tool is used to create a certain design). You are on your feet all day (this is not an art form that can be done sitting down). You are always moving (going from the paints to the bath to the tools to the line where the finished pieces are hung to dry...it's a full day of lifting, pushing, wiping, stretching, walking, holding steady). You are always adapting (weather and use perpetually change the bath). But in the end you are rewarded with a bounty of beautiful work...that ALWAYS takes you by surprise. "I did that?" you ask yourself as you go through paper after marbled paper, usually around 30 to 40 of them after a two-day marbling marathon. "My goodness these are stunning," you finally admit to yourself. And the mental and physical toll of a hard day's work vanishes in a snap.

THAT, I am proud to say, is the experience I got to share with Ann. And while those who have seen our finished works can (and do) admire them, can (and do) ask about the process, can (and do) complement us on our work, they don't fully experience the art the way I, and now Ann, can (and do). That is not to say they can't appreciate it. Indeed, I can appreciate and admire and connect with, say, a sculpture. But because I've never sculpted before, on some level I am missing out on something...a component of the sculpture...and that impacts my ability to wholly experience it.

But now I have someone who understands---as much as I do--the thrill, the addiction, and the lure of marbling. Call Ann and me what you will: partners in crime, co-conspirators, marbling soul mates, joined at the marbling hips, whatever. I, however, will simply call us lucky.

(Click on the first photo below to be taken to a page where the photos are larger and you can advance through them using the arrows in the upper right-hand side.)

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Marbling Madness

Okay. This is a long story. But stick with me on this one and you’ll be rewarded in the end. At least I think you will be.

Back in June 2008, I took a trip to Santa Fe with my girlfriends. It was, I believe, one of the best trips of my life…definitely in the Top 10. And that’s saying a lot for many reasons: 1) I travel A TON, 2) it was a trip that did not involve my husband, who is my favorite travel companion, and 3) it was so completely low key that if I were to describe our days you’d wonder what the hell we did besides eat, drink, and laugh. But that was the beauty of it. It was the subtle moments in between eating, drinking, and laughing that, to anyone but a keen observer, were lost. In other words, you had to be there. So while I can rattle off a list of travel highlights over my lifetime like the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House, Anne Frank’s House, the British Museum, the Empire State Building, the Liberty Bell, Coit Tower, the Space Needle, Waimea Canyon, Cliffs of Moher, etc., so too can many others. But no one, except for the three other women I was with, can lay claim to that Santa Fe experience. Now THAT’S a special trip!

But there was also something that happened uniquely to me on that trip that none of the other ladies experienced. And it is this incident that also contributes to the fact that the Santa Fe trip was one of the best. It was there that I learned about the art of marbling, specifically paper marbling. And that had a profound impact on me.

To make a long story short: Heidi and I stumbled upon a special paper marbling exhibit at the Governor’s Gallery in the New Mexico State Capitol.* Album Amicorum: Gems of Friendship in a Frightened World featured marbled works by 21 contemporary artists from 14 countries. We found the exhibit fascinating and spent a significant amount of time in the little gallery. The next day while we were at the Palace of the Governor’s, who should be in the courtyard demonstrating paper marbling other than the curator of Album Amicorum himself, Tom Leech! While the other girls wandered off, I stood there transfixed by Tom’s demonstration, not just because I found the art form fascinating but also because Tom was clearly an expert on the topic, spoke eloquently about it, and was a spectacular instructor. As I left the demo, I saw a flier about a two-day course on paper marbling that he was going to be teaching at the Santa Fe Art Institute (SFAI). At that very moment, I boldly declared I was going to attend.

Two months later, there I was, standing in one of SFAI’s studios alongside Tom and seven other students as we embarked on a weekend of marbling. To say that the workshop exceeded my expectations by a billion-trillion-gazillon would be putting it lightly. From my first marbled paper, I was completely head over heels about this art form that involves floating paint on water, creating a design, and then capturing it permanently on paper. For the first time in my life, I felt like there was an art form I could relate to and actually do…with confidence, with pride, and with passion.

Upon returning home from Tom’s workshop, I bought several of the things needed to set up my own marbling studio: tank, tools, alum for treating the paper and carrageenan for making the size, paper, and paint. But the one thing I hadn’t gotten was Davey board. I could go on and on about why I had put off buying Davey board…expense, hard time finding the right size, couldn’t find a local place, etc. But the truth is, I was probably afraid to take that final step because that would mean I was potentially setting myself up to fail at something I had fallen in love with. I mean, what if it turned out that the joy and success I experienced at Tom’s workshop was a fluke? What if I couldn’t make the size right and the paint just sank (as if you couldn’t make another batch of size and just try again!)? What if I didn’t alum the paper right and the paint washed away time and time again (as if I couldn’t remake the alum or re-apply it to the paper!)? What if I stood their frozen in front of the tank, paint in hand, with no creative idea in sight (as if just randomly applying/flicking/dragging/pushing/pulling paint with no agenda wasn’t the whole freakin’ point of marbling in the first place!)? What if NO ONE LIKED WHAT I DID (really? You’re doing this for peer approval and not because you simply love doing it?)? What if I COULDN’T MAKE A LIVING AT IT (calm down…you haven’t even set up the studio yet…besides, who said you had to make money from doing this? Why can’t this just be FUN?!!)? What if, what if, what if…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldCPUvwh_0M&hl=en&fs=1]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nEzag5TzK4&hl=en&fs=1]

So a few months went by, I got distracted by the busy season for Hope’s Flame, further distracted myself by classes in other art forms, traveled a ridiculous amount, and just never made the time to complete my marbling studio. But I kept thinking about marbling, Googling marbling, checking out books at the library on marbling, checking up on Tom to see if he was teaching any more classes (or curating any more shows), and otherwise obsessing dreaming about marbling until finally, a few weeks ago, I summoned up the courage and bought the stupid Davey boards.

Why, oh why, did I wait that long?

Last Monday, more than two years after taking Tom’s workshop, I set up my marbling studio…and proceeded to marble away for three straight days, until I used up the entire three gallons of size I had made and marbled about 70 sheets of paper.

I can not even begin to express how happy this made me feel: peaceful, energized, brave, big, loved, grounded, special, proud, creative, impressed, beautiful, pleasantly spent, competent, out-of-this-world…just to list a few!

Having been pro-actively unemployed for nearly five years, I can say that my writing and marbling are the two things I never would have pursued had I not had this gift of time, space, and energy to explore (thank you, Emmett!!). I’m not sure where either one will take me, or if their paths will cross (integrating the two is something I’m brainstorming about), but I do know I am a better, stronger person for having embraced these arts fully, for rising above the emotional fears that often freeze us in place, for finding the courage to dive into them (eventually!), and for taking chances I would never had five (or even two!) years ago.

For now, my marbling studio is packed up as I’ll be leaving it (and Emmett and Mira) behind to spend a few very cold weeks in Minnesota. But the second I return, I’ll be busting out the tank and carrageenan and alum and paints and paper, putting on my “permission-to-get-messy” clothes, and marbling up a storm.

Anyone who cares to join me is more than welcome!

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* The entire Capitol is an art museum featuring some of the finest pieces of art by New Mexico artists and artisans. You’d be a fool to visit Santa Fe and not take in The Capitol Art Collection. It is truly spectacular.

Marbling Class

One of the reasons I headed up to the East Bay last weekend was to take a paper marbling class offered through the San Fran Center for the Book. I was incredibly disappointed in the class itself but did manage to produce a few neat-o sheets of marbled paper.

I love marbling and plan on spending most of the winter doing it. I'll be setting up a marbling studio in January so anyone interested in playing with paint, water, and free-spirited design, just give me a buzz and come on over and join me. Marbling is incredibly addicting, however. You've been warned.