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Creating Ebru Art With Colours Floating On Water

Third Comenius Meeting, Eregli - Turkey 20th - 25th October 2013;

On the second day of the project meeting we did a workshop about Ebru, also called paper

marbling. We met at 9 am at the school Konya-Eregli, Anadolu Lisesi with the students and

teachers. Then we went to the art room, where we first watched a short film about the history of

Ebru. Afterwards the art teacher showed us how to create paper marbling. She was an expert in it,

and thats why we were absolutely fascinated to see the nice pictures she was able to produce.

Later on, we had the possibility to try to make our own Ebru paper.

Now some information about Ebru:

Ebru is a method of aqueous surface design. There are several methods for making marbled paper.

A shallow tray is filled with water, and various kinds of ink or paint colors are carefully applied to the

surface with an ink brush. Various additives or surfactant chemicals are used to help the colors float.

Another method of marbling, more familiar to Europeans and Americans, is made on the surface of

viscous mucilage, known as size or sizing in English. This method is commonly referred to as "Turkish"

marbling, although ancient Turkish peoples were not the only practitioners of the art,

as Persian Tajiks and people of Indian origin also made these papers.

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Ebru is a typical way to draw in Turkey. People assume that the name Ebru comes from the Persian

language and means clouded paper. This rare type of art is made by applying a special sort of

watercolor onto water. Before that, the water needs to have been made denser, to avoid the color

mixing into it. To achieve this, people either mix the water with a type of gum, or boil it with Irish

moss. The colors are traditionally made of pure minerals to which ox gall is added. They are applied on

the surface of the water with a brush with bristles made of horsehair. This hair is used because it does

not absorb the color. The part that differentiates Ebru from other ways of painting is that you do not

actually draw or paint with the brush, but you sprinkle the color by gently patting the handle of the

brush onto your fingers. After that you can marble the colors with a metal stick or a comb, which

consists of a piece of wood with metal nails. In the end you lay a sheet of paper on it and sort of pull

the paint off the surface of the water.

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The traditional Ebru developed in Turkey; during the development different style directions of Ebru Art have been established.

Battal Ebru

The artist remains passive after applying the colour and doesn't step in any more. The quantity and the brush determine the natural course of the colours.

Gel-Git Ebru

You start with the Battal form and then you shape with a special brush zig-zag ornaments on the surface. It is very important to use a rich level colour with small drops, otherwise the colours don't emerge.

al Ebru

it is a development form of the Gel-GitEbru. Instead of straight ornaments you use the brush to shape vertical, horizontal or diagonal snake lines. The brush distances are more distant than in the Gel-Git style direction.

Blbl yuvasi Ebru

Here you shape spirals with the special brush, beginning from the outside, to create a circular sample. Often Blbl yuvasi Ebru is combined with other Ebru forms.

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Tarakli Ebru

Tarakli Ebru is particularly popular in the west. You start from the Gel-Git form and then you smear the lines with a fine needle in the opposite direction to create small rounding downs on the surface.

Hatib-Ebru

At the Habit Ebru you shape ornaments and different motives, such as flowers (Necmettin Ebru), calligraphy (Akkase Ebru) or shades (Dalgal Ebru).