Venice offers several hidden gems, churches, museums, courtyards but also artisan shops and ateliers run by skilled artisans. If you think you are already familiar with all artful hand-made items in Venice such as colourful feathery masks, incredible glass drinking goblets, delicate Burano lace, then you should you read what follows.
Let us start from the final beautiful result
a sheet of marbled paper
This is a sheet of handmade Venetian marbled paper!
Paper marbling is an old technique that originated in the Far East. It consists in dripping different colours in a marbling tray, a basin filled with dipping liquid (water or viscous solution), then using different combs and finally passing a sheet of blotting paper to which the colours stick to. It looks magical!
One of the basic patterns recall the veins in marble or stone. Hence the name.
dripping the first colours
adding a new colour
and another colour
The only tools used are a marbling tray, colours, different types of ‘combs’, paper and the experience to transform shapeless floating dots of colours into new combinations of patterns.
and how do you obtain this pattern?
and this one?
the final result
We can visit this young studio on a tour together and enjoy the full experience, we can learn about the binding materials (gum, ox-gall) used here and the ones used in the East; discover how Venetians used marbled paper in past centuries, what influences the density of water, why you will not find museums of marbled paper and much more.
our Venetian marble paper maker, Federico
By the way in the studio you will also find a selection of artful blank albums, journals, notebooks, frames, pretty little boxes, pencil boxes, all nice small gifts for friends and easy to transport…
a few ideas how you can use marbled paper
another idea
And also earrings light and water resistant!
Fiona Giusto
