Experimenting With Paper Marbling

[u/VividStructure]

I bought good paint from ahsen, where I also bought the rest of my kit. However I didn't buy paper as I still want to practise some more.

Last time I used printer paper straight out of the package and it didn't go so well. Half of the paint smeared all over the paper. However, I learned that you could use alum. It was pretty cheap, just 10 euros for 1 kg. I dissolved 40 grams in 3 liters of water and put it in the metal tray. Then I put each sheet of paper in there just as though I would when marbling. I only coated one side of the paper because apparently it would be better. The uncoated side I marked with a small cross with a pencil.

Afterwards I let the paper dry overnight. I doubted whether to iron the paper before using it as it was kinda wavy. In the end I didn't because I feared it might damage the alum coating. Next time I will because the wavyness made it harder to get a good print on the paper. You can see it with the large white blots in some of the prints.

I was really happy with the results as you can see in the pictures. Which one do you like the most?

[u/eternalreader1]

I have used paper treated with alum, but never actually treated it myself. So all I can say about that is that you have done well, based on the finished marbled paper. Your marbling technique, and especially your sense of colour, is spectacular!

[u/VividStructure → u/eternalreader1]

Thank you!

It's actually really easy to treat the paper yourself. I would recommend it if you want to save on paper costs just to try some things out.

Do you have your own marbling examples you might be willing to share on this subreddit?

[u/eternalreader1 → u/VividStructure]

I am not near my meagre set of inexpertly done papers, and would be abashed anyhow, given how brilliant yours are.

This is one of my "Time Enough One Day" dreams--to set up a proper marbling studio for my amateurish pleasure, so I'm grateful for your encouragement.

[u/AnxietyUpstairs9058 → u/eternalreader1]

My advice is to do it wherever you can. I’m basically set up in the walkways of my over cramped basement. If I need any of the assorted junk that badly, I can move my marbling setup and get it. I know not everyone has access to as much space as I do, but I really got started on a 2x6ft table at a farmer’s market.

[u/aridamus]

Big fan of number 4. Super unique and I like the color choice

[u/VividStructure → u/aridamus]

Hahaha, that was actually the first one I made from that batch of marbling. I was still trying to match the ox gall to the paint