It's disheartening when this happens! Well, I won't try marbling on this paper again.
Saturday, August 06, 2011
When Marbling Washes Away
When marbling, after a sheet of paper has been laid on the floating paint and lifted from the tank, it has to be rinsed with water to remove the excess size. Sometimes the paint on a sheet of newly marbled paper just washes down the drain. This happens when the paper isn't suitable for marbling. During my last marbling session, I tried some different paper and it became a good example of what happens when the pattern just washes off. Once I realized what was happening, I got the camera a made a little video to show you. Much effort, washed away in 20 seconds.
It's disheartening when this happens! Well, I won't try marbling on this paper again.
It's disheartening when this happens! Well, I won't try marbling on this paper again.
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10 comments:
Bummer!
I think maybe the problem is also the mordant, and the process to add mordant t the paper... maybe that kind of paper is coated and there are problems adding mordant... you should find more information about the paper and what mordand works better... Regards from Italy...
www.arte-tatorigato.blogspot.com
thanks for your advice Salvatore. I treated this paper with alum the same way as other paper that I use - which normally works fine. I had not considered using a different mordant.
Oh, how sad! I never knew the type of paper could make that kind of difference. Of course, I know nothing about marbling paper. Broke my heart to see the beautiful design washing away. :(
I noticed only a portion of the paper was not alumed properly. The left side seems to hold the colours.
I wondered about that, John. But I don't know how I could have applied the alum so differently on one side! This particular sheet of paper is handmade paper so I also wondered if its composition might be different on that side...
The problem is probably because there is calcium carbonate in the paper which is now being added to paper to make it "acid free" which is something that marblers really don't need as it reacts somehow with either the alum or the pigments. I've found paper that has sulfite in it to work (sometimes) but best to try and find paper that isn't labled "acid free."
I had no idea marbling would do that. Of course I have no knowledge of how to marble papers - It's on my "bucket" list. But now I know!
Thanks for all the feedback! There are so many variables involved in producing a successful sheet of marbled paper, sometimes I am surprised at our dedication to this art :)
I hate when that happens. I've been using Bugra papers lately for my colored paper and have been SUPER happy with it. I cut the big sheets in 1/4s and they fit my tank perfectly.
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