Introduction To Paper Marbling - Making A Custom Design For DUNE

** This video was originally soft-launched as bonus content for 'Rebinding Dune - Part 2', but is now public for all of YouTube. **

Hello everyone!

Paper marbling is a very old art form that has long been closely associated with bookbinding. I began marbling paper and bookbinding at about the same time, so for me it is an important aspect of the book arts.

While this isn’t a tutorial, I’m sure there will be plenty of questions about materials and techniques, so I’ll try to get out ahead of some of them here.

PAPER MARBLING TOPICS

The Carrageenan: There are 3 types of carrageenan, only one of which is suitable for marbling. Look for “Lambda” carrageenan. It’s usually available in powdered form, though if you are in the UK I understand it can be found in its whole fresh state.

The Paint: I use high-quality acrylic paints, most often Golden brand heavy-body acrylics. High quality paints have enough pigment to produce vibrant colours. I thin these with water to achieve a relatively thin consistency, so the amount of pigment is critical. Many marblers use gouache paint, though I haven’t tried that myself.

The Surfactant: Ox gall, an animal byproduct, was the traditional spreading agent for marbling. Genuine ox gall is hard to find these days. Instead I use a product called Kodak Photo-Flo 200.

The Paper: Many different types of paper can be marbled, as well as fabrics, ceramics, wood, glass, etc. Two of my preferred papers are 120 gsm Fabriano Accademia, and 125 gsm Canaletto Velino.

The Alum: Unlike alum for household pickling, alum mordant is Potassium Aluminum Sulfate. It’s available in pure powdered form online, or check your garden center for a soil acidifier for turning your hydrangeas blue. It’s not as pure as the refined powder (it usually has little stones in it) but I used it for many prints with good results.

PAPER MARBLING FAQ

Q: Can you make more than one print at a time?
A: No*, each print is unique. The size must be cleaned of any remaining paint and prepared fresh for the next print. (*technically a print can be taken of whatever paint is left on the size after the original print is taken, but the result will be basically blank in the middle, with only pale, washed-out looking colours around the edges. But when done with intent it can create an interesting effect all on its own. But insofar as taking multiples of the first-quality print, that is impossible.)

Q: How do you clean the bath after taking a print?
A: I use strips of regular newspaper to skim the surface, which will pick up any remaining paint. I usually skim twice after every print.

Q: How much carrageenan do you put in the water?
A: It varies, depending on the viscosity I need. For the bath in this video I used 13.3 grams of lambda carrageenan powder per liter of distilled water.

Q: Have you ever tried marbling on other materials than paper?
A: Yes, marbling can be applied to a wide variety of materials. Fabric is a very popular one, though I haven't tried that. But I have done leather, wood, terra-cotta, glass, and bird feathers!

Further Reading:
'Making Traditional Marbled Papers' by Kate Brett, isbn 9781785009570

I’ll add more info here as questions arise. Until then, thanks for watching!

Cheers,

Dennis
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