The Midas TOUCH

PAPER

Gather your supplies

• Jacquard Marbling Kit (includes 6 marbling colours, carrageenan, alum and gall)
• Jacquard Rich Gold alcohol ink (or other colours of choice)
• Sheets of paper
• Shallow trays/pans (large/deep enough to marble paper freely)
• Whisk or non-food use blender
• 4-litre container with lid
• Newspaper or paper towels
• Various hair picks, combs, rakes, skewers or stylus (for ‘combing’ patterns)

For you to note

Papers that work well for marbling are absorbent and contain little to no protective fillers. Rice papers, printmaking papers, blotter paper, drawing paper, charcoal paper and pastel paper work particularly well. Watercolour paper is not recommended. Experiment with different types of paper.

Here’s how

Preparing mordant

A mordant must be used so that the marbled design will adhere to the fibre quickly and permanently.

STEP 1 For paper: dissolve 2 tsp/10g of alum in 950ml warm water. Treated papers should be used within 2 days to ensure the mordant is still effective.

STEP 2 Be sure to stir the solution well to ensure the alum has completely dissolved. Pour prepared Alum solution into a shallow tray or pan. Note: the tray you are using should be large and deep enough to submerge the paper.

STEP 3 Submerge each sheet of paper one at a time into the alum solution. Leave in the solution for 30 minutes, then line dry.