Ebru painting, also known as ‘paper marbling,’ is an ancient technique perfected across Central Asia. Using dyes and a water-based solution, artists create dazzling paintings desired by collectors and tourists, and also important in historic, sacred texts. We followed famed Turkish artist Garip Ay as he worked, learning step-by-step how these mesmerizing paintings are made.
In Ebru art, natural pigments are used together with Ox, a substance that prevents the colors from sinking into the aqueous solution. Tragacanth Gum, a powder of seaweed, gives the solution a degree of viscosity so that it does not mix with the paint.
Garip Ay is one of the most popular Ebru artists in Turkey today. He started working on this technique in 2007, and tries to combine the art of traditional marble with contemporary touches to create modern designs.
It is believed that this technique first emerged in Bukhara, Turkistan, and through the ancient Silk Road reached Anatolia, where it was perfected and consolidated.
Ebru paper was used as a background for official documents and records of important events, as a means to avoid alteration of the document.Later the Ebru began to be used along with the calligraphy to adorn sacred books and writings. Thus this technique came to occupy a very important place in the history of Islamic art.
In Ebru, brushes made with horse hair are used to splash the paint on the surface, as well as punches and droppers to shape the colors and create different figures.
Once the desired drawing has been made, a sheet of paper or a piece of cloth is placed over the tray to transfer the image.
After drying the paper, it is manually flattened and polished. The design is preserved thanks to the thin layer of ebru that remains. And there you have it, a masterpiece.
