Marbling

There are few things I like better than painting papers. I make piles and piles of background papers. I love the process, I love the results. For years, that's as far as it went. Stacks of paper I'd take out to look at and then put away. Now I've started using them for journals and mail art and my supply is shrinking. (I was going to say dwindling, but that would be a stretch. I have plenty, but there's always good reasons to make more.)

I started marbling Saturday evening and worked until 2AM. I ended up making more than 80 papers. I first tried marbling more than 20 years ago when I got the ambitious idea to hand-make my sister's wedding shower invitations. (this was WAY beyond my skill level at the time, but it didn't stop me).
I don't remember the exact technique, but I know it involved oil paint and turpentine and supplies that were hard to find, expensive, and crazy-messy and hard to work with. The results were colorful, but not very satisfying. I used them anyway and my dear sister didn't complain.

I've since learned how to do this with liquid starch and cheap acrylic paint and I'm SO happy with the results. Supplies are cheap and readily available and easy to clean up. And since I use those cheap craft paints that cost less than a dollar, I can spring for a wide pallet of colors.

So here's a selection of what I churned out. My mail art friends will start seeing them in their mailboxes soon!

Some of the pinks and oranges

The earth tone pallet

The blue and green pallet

I do some traditional feathering patterns like these:

and some swirly ones like these

But my FAVORITES are the blobby ones like these: