Marbling

Marbling is a way of decorating paper, fabric or objects by floating paint or ink on the surface of water, swirling it into patterns and then laying something on top to pick the design up. The swirls look a bit like polished marble stone, which is how it got its name. Every print is completely one of a kind.

People have been marbling for centuries. You may have seen marbled paper inside the covers of old books. In Japan, a gentle ink version is called suminagashi, which means floating ink, and in Turkey the tradition is known as ebru.

It starts with a tray of water. Often the water is thickened with a special powder, which turns it into a size. This helps the colours sit on top instead of sinking, and keeps the pattern steady while you work.

Next come the colours, dropped or flicked onto the surface with a brush or pipette. They spread out into floating circles. Then the fun part: you gently drag a stick, needle or comb through the colours to shape them into swirls. Finally, you lay your paper or dip your object onto the surface, lift it off and watch the whole pattern appear, printed in one go.

A stone pattern is the simplest: just drops of colour, left as they fall, like pebbles on a beach. Drag a single needle or stick through in loops and you get swirls and spirals. A comb pulled across in straight lines makes fine, even stripes, and going back and forth creates feathery and zigzag designs. With a little practice, a needle can even tease colours into flower and heart shapes. Or you can simply go abstract and see what happens.

Cap marbling uses the same water marbling to decorate a plain cap. Your Activity Leader shows you how to drop the colours and pull them into shapes. Once you've got the hang of it, you dip your own peaked cap into the pattern and lift the whole design off in one go. Gloves and aprons help keep the colour on the cap rather than on you.

It's brilliant for kids, and for the grown-ups watching too. There's no right or wrong, so it suits young children and teenagers alike, and nobody needs to be good at drawing. The big reveal when you lift off your print gets gasps every time. It's a lovely way to talk about colour and pattern, and there's a bit of science in why the paint floats as well.

Paint gets everywhere, in the best way, so wear old clothes you don't mind getting colourful. Roll up sleeves and tie back long hair so they stay out of the tray.

You might also like Tie Dye, Hapa Zome and Block Printing.

See all Camp Kindling activities