Liquid Duality: Marbling

Marbling Marbling is the art of creating colorful patterns by sprinkling and spreading paint or materials onto a pan of water. The resulting pattern is unique and cannot be exactly reproduced.

“Unique properties of liquid make it a visually enticing medium for art.�

Liquid Duality Experiment No 2, 3, 4

Experiment Info Water can be used as a art form and using it as a canvas and a medium. So, I tried doing experiments through a technique called marbling. At first I thought marbling can be achieved by paint so I bought some tempera paint to being my experiment. Turns out that tempera paint stays in its original shape when dropped in water and disintegrates.

I did not know that they sold marbling paint that is just used for marbling. At first, it was pretty difficult to get the paint to stay on the surface but after multiple tries I ended up succeeding. After trying the marbling ink technique, I thought if it would be possible to create a marbling effect through other art mediums from other things in the house. So I decided to experiment with soft pastels and nail polish. Although, each one had its difficulty, after multiple tries it started to come out really nice.

Through this experiment I was able to interact and design something that is not on the computer. When designing on computer we are the designer, but in this experiment water becomes the artist and designer and we just add in the materials. Once printed from a printer it is a set design and I know how its going to look like on screen and on paper. But using water as a canvas the pattern and design comes out different each time, therefore each design is unique. Also designing it on the water and then transferring the design on to paper becomes another design that is totally different.

Soft Pastel Experiment No 2

Materials

tin pan water soft pastels cup water color paper something to crush the pastels with

step 1 Pour water into the tin and fill about half way and let the water settle.

step 2 Pick the colors of the soft pastels you want to use.

For each of the color break a piece off and place them into the cup and crush the pastel. After crushing each color put them separated on a piece of paper.

step 3

step 4 step 4 Once finished with the design, there are two ways to transfer the design onto the water color paper.

1. Set the paper on top of the design and slightly press on the paper to make sure the design transferred on.

Carefully lift one side and take out the paper.

2. Start from the one side of the paper and slowly submerge the paper to the bottom, underneath the design. When submerging the paper the design will start to transfer onto the paper. *Transferring onto paper using different methods each time, will result in the final designs to be all different.

step 3 Take any colors and sprinkle it onto the water variously to create a design. If you want you can slightly swirl the pastels with any type of stick to mix the colors.

Marbling Ink Experiment No 3

Materials

tin pan water marbling lnk water color paper small paintbrushes paint palette

step 1&2 step 1 Pour water into the tin and fill about half way. Let the water settle a little before adding the marbling ink. step 2 Add paint into the palette.

Once the water has settled, dip you brush into a desired color and slowly touch the surface of the water. If done correctly once the ink touches the surface it will spread out onto the water.

Repeat with multiple colors and use opposite end of the brush to swirl the ink together. * Don’t dip the whole brush into the water completely, the ink will just stay at the bottom.

step 3 Once finished with the design, there are two ways to transfer the design on to the water color paper.

1. Set the paper on top of the design and slightly press on the paper to make sure the design transferred on. Carefully lift one side and take out the paper.

2. Start from one side of the paper and slowly submerge the paper to the bottom, underneath the design. When submerging the paper the design will start to transfer on to the paper.

Set aside and wait a couple hours for it to dry.

Nail Polish Experiment No 4

Materials

tin pan water nail polishes water color paper

step

1& 2& 3& 4 step 1 Pour water into the tin and fill about half way. Let the water settle a little before adding nail polish. step 2 Once the water settles, slowly add nail polish drops into the water. Create a design. step 3 Use a toothpick or the end of a paint brush to move the nail polish and create a design. step 4 Once finished with the design, to transfer the design onto the paper, set the paper on top of the design and slightly press on the paper to make sure the design transfered on.

Carefully lift one side and take out the paper.

Set aside and wait a couple hours for it to dry.