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Before modern acrylic colors transformed contemporary marbling, marblers prepared their colors by hand from pigments, binders, additives, and other materials whose behavior had to be understood and controlled. This intensive workshop returns to that tradition.
Students will explore the preparation and use of watercolor and traditional pigment-based marbling colors, learning how pigments are dispersed and adjusted and how binders, surfactants, and other variables influence their behavior on the marbling bath. Particular attention will be given to the very different working characteristics of these materials compared with modern acrylics.
Using historically informed methods, we will create a selection of classical patterns associated with traditional book and decorative-paper production, exploring the restrained control, delicate line, complex surface, and distinctive visual character possible with watercolor and pigment-based systems.
The workshop places equal emphasis on making the colors and using them. Students will learn to diagnose paint behavior, make appropriate adjustments, understand the interaction between individual pigments, and develop the judgment required to achieve repeatable results.
For students accustomed to prepared acrylic colors, this workshop offers a substantially deeper examination of the materials and historical craft underlying marbling. For experienced marblers, it provides an opportunity to work closer to the methods and materials used by generations of professional marblers before us.
Skill Level: Advanced
Prerequisite: prior experience with marbling required
Tuition: $1,399 per person + supplies and materials
Supplies & Materials: $350 due on-site
2026 Dates & Locations:
Seattle, November 6-9 ( 10:00am – 5:00pm )
Before modern acrylic colors transformed contemporary marbling, marblers prepared their colors by hand from pigments, binders, additives, and other materials whose behavior had to be understood and controlled. This intensive workshop returns to that tradition.
Students will explore the preparation and use of watercolor and traditional pigment-based marbling colors, learning how pigments are dispersed and adjusted and how binders, surfactants, and other variables influence their behavior on the marbling bath. Particular attention will be given to the very different working characteristics of these materials compared with modern acrylics.
Using historically informed methods, we will create a selection of classical patterns associated with traditional book and decorative-paper production, exploring the restrained control, delicate line, complex surface, and distinctive visual character possible with watercolor and pigment-based systems.
The workshop places equal emphasis on making the colors and using them. Students will learn to diagnose paint behavior, make appropriate adjustments, understand the interaction between individual pigments, and develop the judgment required to achieve repeatable results.
For students accustomed to prepared acrylic colors, this workshop offers a substantially deeper examination of the materials and historical craft underlying marbling. For experienced marblers, it provides an opportunity to work closer to the methods and materials used by generations of professional marblers before us.
Skill Level: Advanced
Prerequisite: prior experience with marbling required
Tuition: $1,399 per person + supplies and materials
Supplies & Materials: $350 due on-site
2026 Dates & Locations:
Seattle, November 6-9 ( 10:00am – 5:00pm )
