Size Matters

10/25/2014

Size is the gelatinous medium on which marbling designs are created, a thickened water base onto which the marbler drops paints. The surface tension of this viscous fluid causes the paints to take on a life of their own, spreading and interacting with each other in marvelous ways. When all the colors have been applied to the size, the marbler coaxes them into a pleasing design, then transfers that onto paper or fabric.

Size matters enormously. Its condition is crucial to the outcome of the design. Successful prints depend on healthy size.

Size that's too thin lets the colors spread too far and too fast. Size that's too thick doesn't allow them to spread enough. Dust on the size causes prints flecked with unattractive blank spots. Size contaminated with too much alum makes the paint clump into angular clots instead of spreading smoothly.

And perhaps saddest of all is tired size, size that has lost its spring, its will to support and spread color. Tired size drains the life out of paints, which lie lumpy and listless where they fall, refusing to blossom into the organic shapes that are the beginning of any marbling design.

How sad it is when this scenario signals the end of a marbling session! Like a carousel slowing to a halt with its music running down, the exhilarating ride is over and it's time to step off. All that remains is the clean up.

So, yes, as any marbler knows, size matters.

12 Comments

Sue

11/7/2014 07:50:12

so, having said that, what are you using for a size? I got your website from the marbling list. You did a very good explanation on the how it's done. I recognized the vinegar, so you are most likely using mc, but I didn't recognize the other ingredients. Also, what brand of paints are you using? What brand or type of mc are you using? There are several and I could tell you about others if you need them. Thanks, Sue

Ellen Gordon link

11/8/2014 13:22:14

Hi, Sue! Yes, I am using mc. Am too new at this to brave carageenan, although I know there are many who swear by it. The other things you see in the photo are the ammonia, and the oatmeal canister in which I use to store the mc. Answered you more fully on FB, but then figured out how to answer blog comments here! Thanks for posting . . .

11/11/2014 18:02:54

okay, I have 2 emails, so you can use either one. I keep my mc in a glass widemouthed jar with the label taped to it, just in case. If someone found it in an oatmeal container, they would have no idea what it was, so I always opt to be on the safe side

Ellen Gordon

11/12/2014 02:41:54

Ha, ha, I don't have that problem in my household!

11/12/2014 17:53:42

youu were probably thinking of family. I was thinking of police or emt workers, which hopefully I'll never have, but like I said I like to be on the safe side

11/13/2014 01:31:37

Ack, no, I hadn't thought of that! Let's hope it never becomes an issue!

11/11/2014 18:09:34

carageenan isn't any harder to use. I mix it in the blender. Some people say it makes finer lines. The main reason I use mc is the carageenan spoils faster and stinks like rotten fish, since it's made of seaweed. I haven't been able to figure out if it's more expensive because the powder is fluffier than the mc, so I haven't tracked which one makes more yet. Like tablespoon to tablespoon in other words.

11/12/2014 02:43:46

OH, that's good to know - I always thought somehow it was much trickier. So I won't be so intimidated now to try it. For now I'll stick with what I'm using - I'm having enough trouble trying to get some proficiency with these materials, and the fewer changes the better. Am about to have another marbling session today in preparation for a show this weekend.

Valerie

1/12/2015 13:13:00

You said you were mixing your own paints. I marble in Florida and am always looking for new paints. Would you be interested in mixing and selling to me a reall nice red color? What do you use as a surfactant for your paints? I always have requests for "collegiate" colors, and just don't how to start mixing my own. I also marble on mc.......carrageenan seemed too fussy for me, but Imcould be wrong. Hope to hear from you. Email me if you would.

1/12/2015 13:26:29

Hi, Valerie! Reds are tough, aren't they? They are the hardest colors to get to stay "true" in marbling. Will email you a fuller reply. Thanks for checking out my blog!

1/12/2015 20:06:44

lately I have been using Goldens new high flow acrylic colors and the red and black are actually coming out red and black. The other thing I have done in the pasti s to go to a Home Depot to their paint dept with some small containers and ask the manager for some pure pigments that they use for mixing. I went in the evening when they were slow, so I might have had better luck that way.

Otherwise Galen Berry sells red acrycli premixed paints that have extra pigment in them, also Black. this is his website: http://marbleart.us/ Iris Nevins also sells premixed paints but I'm not sure if they are just watercolor or if she also sells acrylics
Sue

1/13/2015 04:37:24

Hi, Sue, and Happy New Year! Hope you are staying warm up in the frozen North.

Thanks for this excellent info! I yearn for a red that stays red, and it's wonderful to know about these options. As for the Home Depot play, that's downright BRILLIANT!!! Don't know if I would be successful with that here, where the HD staff is grouchy and unhelpful, but it's worth a shot next time I'm there. :)

Size Matters

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