Marbling Paper and Fabric ~ with Pietro Accardi
Experience the magic of marbling!
During this week students will gain an in-depth understanding of the marbling technique and will marble on paper, cotton, and silk.
The first half of the week will provide hands-on experience of all aspects of Western marbling techniques from paper priming and the preparatory mixing of water medium and paints, to the creation of classical and spontaneous patterns.
Specific attention will be given to learning how to obtain particular designs using a diverse array of rakes and combs. Students will have ample time for experimentation, with guidance from the instructor, and will create a sampling of papers they’ve marbled themselves.
In the second half of the week, students will use their marbling skills on fabric and silk. Each student will be able to create two marbled silk scarves (15″ x 60″) and 10 pieces of marbled cotton (15″ x 24″).
Materials
All materials and paraphernalia for marbling will be provided by the instructor. These include paper, cotton, silk scarves, primer, paints, carrageenan etc. Students are welcome to bring their own special paper or fabric to marble. A materials fee of $80 will be payable to the instructor when the class first meets.
Read our blog interview with Pietro here.
Pietro is native to the northwestern Italian city of Turin where his father, Gaetano, founded and operated a commercial printing press. His youth spent in the press led him to paper marbling, restoration and bookbinding. Pietro in 1997 established “La Legatoria del Sole,” an artisanal and production-oriented bookbindery in Turin. It served Turin’s Municipal Archives, public and university libraries.
After coming to the U.S., Pietro started teaching paper and fabric marbling at the “San Francisco Center for the Book” and at the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno.
Together with his wife Vanessa, he has founded Accardi Book Arts: a book arts studio and bindery in Gardnerville to follow his passion of marbling fabric/paper and to preserve the tradition of handmade books and boxes.