May Calliarts - Suminagashi Marbling - 14 May 2016

Dear Members and Followers,

After the meeting on Saturday we have our monthly Calliarts afternoon and this month it is Sumingashi Marbling with Patricia Moody.

SUMINAGASHI (MARBLING) (Ink that floats on water )

Dating from 12th c. Japan, Suminagashi is said to emulate the flowing motion of windblown, white cloth or the patterns seen in slowly running streams.

Patterns are formed by dropping ink, traditionally, black, blue or red, onto the surface of a water bath in successive rings. These rings of colour are then manipulated into wavy patterns that resemble taffeta or moving water. No two pieces will ever be alike, but all will be beautiful.

Suminagashi, lends itself very well to being the background for a calligraphic piece.

This form of marbling is very easy to do, and requires a minimum of equipment apart from a few easy to acquire basics. A full equipment list will be posted shortly.

Equipment list (There will be a small charge of approx. $4.00 on the day to cover cost of good ink & Photo-Flo).                                                            

·         2 Kitty Litter trays, - or similar - (needs to take larger than A4 but less than A3) & be at least 5 / 6 cm deep.

·         1 to 1.5 litre plastic jug.

·         2 cheap plastic buckets (or share with a mate.)

·         Newspaper , plus extra sheets cut into 10cm wide strips (used for skimming the water)

·         Large plastic bag to take wet newspaper home in.

·         Bottled Chinese ink of your choice. BLACK ONLY. Plus any others you might want to experiment with. Yasutomo ink works really well for Suminagashi. If you have this, please bring it.

·         2 x small, but deep containers ,-lidded if possible,- but if not, don’t worry. Plastic communion cups, film containers , or small jars would be ideal.
·         Another 2 small lidded jars for ink and Photo-Flo to take home.
·         Kodak Photo-Flo 200 (but only if you have some)

·         2 smallish (but not too small) Chinese paint brushes – Eckersley’s may have these, if not China town will) OR 2 x #3 cheap, ROUND nylon brushes, eg Francheville, Royal Crafters Choice, available at Spotlight, Lincraft , Eckersley’s .

·         Plastic eye dropper or pipette.

·         Fine stylus, toothpicks, satay stick, for ‘drawing ‘designs.

·         Old towel or plastic sheet to cover your table.

·         Another old towel or a roll of kitchen paper to blot wet marbled sheets  (ink will not transfer onto towel)

·         Paper: have fun & experiment, however 110gsm cartridge works very well, as does Lana, (there will be some for sale on the day.This will be $2 a sheet and will cut down into 4 pieces) Whatever you want to work with, it will need to have a certain amount of ‘wet strength ‘ so best not to use tissue paper unless it is Japanese and of a very high quality.

·         The ability to relax, play and experiment.