During my time away from painting, I found myself craving something to reignite my creativity. I had always been drawn to water marbling, the intricate patterns and rich history of this craft was so intriguing to me, and after a little searching I came across Marmor Paperie, a beautiful water marbling studio run by Lucy McGrath. Taking part in one of her workshops felt like the perfect way to spark some fresh inspiration.

The workshop was held in a lovely, light-filled studio in South London, not far from Greenwich. I started with the beginner’s session, where we were introduced to the fundamentals of water marbling - learning how to mix the special size solution, prepare paper with alum to ensure the designs adhere properly, and experiment with different techniques. It was fascinating to learn about the rich history of marbling, from its early origins in Japan and Turkey to its evolution across Italy, France, and Britain, shaping patterns and styles through the centuries. Working in pairs, we took turns layering paints onto the surface, watching the colours ripple and shift before carefully transferring our designs onto paper.

I really enjoyed this workshop and immediately found myself booking onto the intermediate 'Waves and Combs' workshop a few months later. This session was a step up after learning the basic concepts of marbling. We learnt how to mix our own different colours this time using acrylic paint and water, mastering the consistency, which was meant to be that of milk - a lot harder than you think! This time we were introduced to more advanced techniques to create classic marbling patterns with different combs as well as a wooden pointed stick. These included Spanish wave, nonpareil, chevron, and the peacock design - one of my personal favourites.

 I absolutely loved doing these workshops and I could safely say I had fallen in love with water marbling. I was keen to keep this new skill fresh and I found out that Marmor Paperie also did 'drop in' marbling sessions, which I was lucky enough to attend once again. These sessions are for those who have taken the beginner and intermediate workshops and offer a chance to push those skills learnt early on a little bit further. I am hopeful that Lucy will run more of these soon as I would love to attend another marbling session soon! I came away from all three marbling sessions with a totally new creative skill, a newfound sense of inspiration, and lots of beautiful marbled papers. Marbling really is also very therapeutic and relaxing which is another reason why I love it. When you're doing it, you're totally in a creative flow state. It's so interesting to see what happens with the paints, how the colours combine together and the endless possibilities of pattern with this practice. I really want to be able to use these marbled patterns I have created and somehow weave them into my work, I have had several ideas on just how I do this, perhaps combining them with my lettering work or using them as mounts in beautiful frames for other work. I have had a few ideas on using my designs as prints and even having a go at painting some of the intricate designs - so watch this space! Either way, I really enjoyed my marbling journey and hope to do some more again soon.

Below are just some of the papers I came home with as well two beautiful notebooks I had bound with some of my favourite paper designs. I am yet to use either notebook as I just think they feel far too special!