Suminagashi: Japanese Paper Marbling

Ever notice the lovely marbled paper end sheets in old books? It's likely the ones you've seen have been printed, but the idea of putting beautiful marbled paper in books began long before the printing press was invented. Then, the art of creating beautiful designs by floating paint on water, and picking it up on paper, was a carefully guarded trade secret, passed from master to apprentice in a tightly closed circle.

Today, a lovely volunteer at our local library took the time to share this history and art form with about thirty 9-12 year olds. My daughter and niece enjoyed the project immensely, bringing home a dozen beautiful sheets of paper each.

It's a beautiful thing to pass on a skill to a group of young people. None of them are likely to devote their lives to mastering it, but maybe one will. Maybe one will find patterns in the swirling paint that mean something to them, and keep trying until they can create meaningful patterns at will. Maybe we can keep an ancient art form around for a few more thousand years.

What do I have to pass on to the next generation? What do you have? Can we devote some time to teaching it to a group of kids? You don't need to have children of your own to volunteer at a local school or library. You don't have to make a long term commitment. One afternoon at a time would be great. As our schools and communities lose monetary resources we can bolster them up with our human and creative resources.

I also highly recommend googling "Suminigashi" and trying it with kids 8 and up. When I was young, I remember doing something similar with a special Easter egg dye kit. It's way cool on paper.