Introduction

For my Chemistry and Art final project, I chose to explore the ancient form of Japanese marbling called Suminagashi. This oriental form of marbling paper is very different from our modern day art form of marbling. With the help of Dr. Bordley, I was able to learn more about Suminagashi and to order the special materials needed. The process is done very precisely and delicately and is considered a high-class craft in Japan. I decided to alter the paper I used and the exact Suminagashi technique. I used the Eastern style of paper that we made earlier in the semester and as well as new cotton fiber Western paper I made.

Background

Since the 12^th century, this ancient form of marbling paper and silk has been practiced in Japan. Suminagashi is a high form of Japanese art that has been considered to have religious connotations, especially because of the significance of paper in the Japanese culture. The other aspect of Suminagashi that makes the technique so prestigious is the capability of the process to imitate nature. This imitation of natural phenomenon is seen in other forms of Japanese art as well. The earliest example of Suminagashi that has been found was in a literary work dated 1118. The old legend that has been told about the discovering of Suminagashi, was in 1151 when Jiyemon Hiroba supposedly received the secret of Suminagashi as a gift for his devout worship at the Katsuga Shrine.(Don Guyot, Suminagashi Brass Galley Press: Seattle, 1990 pg.1) The beautiful papers were cherished by nobles for several centuries following the initial discovery. However, because of commercializing and printing today and not enough interest in developing delicate craftsmanship, there remains only one mast craftsman in Japan who is still practicing Suminagashi the old method. It must be noted that there are others that are practicing Suminagashi, but these individuals are not considered “masters” of this art form.

There are numerous forms of decorating paper in many cultures. Suminagashi has been more difficult to receive instructions on for Westerners. Recently, the interests in fine craftsmanship and new techniques have grown in the US, and Suminagashi has grown in popularity. It is important for those who emerge themselves in this graceful art style to understand that this is an Eastern form of decorating paper and we must be careful not to bring our Western connotations of “art” to the experience. Suminagashi occurs naturally, the elements must not be forced. The artist is not the dominating force behind the final product; we must simply be a natural strength, assisting towards the end piece. Because there are such considerable differences between Eastern and Western artists, it has become nearly impossible for a Western artist to master Suminagashi.

Procedure

To perform Suminagashi entirely by the ancient method was not practicable for me, i.e. I chose not to build my own vat, create a special rod to remove the paper, or crush my own pigments. However, I did use the correct brushes and suitable liquid paints and surfactant. To begin the procedure, I first made my own paper;

Materials for Paper Making:

*336grams of raw cotton pulp

*Beater and water

*Deckle box

*Large cylinder, screen, tin can, timer- to note the drainage time

*Sizing

*Couching materials: felts and cloths

*9 sheets Eastern style paper previously made in lab

To begin, I tore up 336g of the raw cotton fiber and added them to the water-filled beater machine. I then noted the beating pulp by testing the drainage time and shifting the beating level. To test the pulp, I took 80ml of cotton pulp and 400ml of water. Mixed together, the pulp was poured through the screen placed on top of a large cylinder. The tin cup held the water while I timed how long it took the water to reach 250ml in the cylinder. I kept a chart and carefully observed the change in the drainage time to identify the correct beating level.

CLOCK	BEATER SETTING	DRAINAGE TIME
1:45pm	20	-
2:05	10	-
2:07	8	-
2:10	6	-
2:14	4	-
2:17	2	-
2:22	2	-
2:26	1	5.7sec
2:30	1	6.1sec
2:33	1	8.8sec
2:37	1	13.02sec
2:45	1	16.9sec
2:48	1	17.7sec
2:54	1	35.4sec
2:57	1	12.2sec
3:00	1	13.56sec
3:05	1	14.78sec
3:14	1	37.25sec

At 3:26pm the drainage time concluded that the pulp was finished being beaten and I was ready to make paper. I used 4x120ml of cotton fiber and the deckle box full of fresh water to make one sheet of paper. After mixing the full deckle box with a screen, adding the fixing if it was needed, I turned the lever on the boxes tubing, and the water was sucked out. I then couched each sheet and placed on a board to dry. As one of my variables, I varied the amount of sizing I used in each sheet. I was attempting to find different results in using paper with sizing and the amount of sizing verses pure cotton paper. In total, I made seven sheets of pure cotton paper, three cotton sheets with two drops of sizing, three cotton sheets with five drops of sizing, and three cotton sheets with ten drops of sizing. I also had nine sheets of Eastern paper already made. Now I was ready to begin Suminagashi.

Materials for Suminagashi:

*1 large vat with one-inch of water

*3 Japanese brushes

*6 liquid paints

*1 bottle of surfactant

*A large stack of paper towels

*Color-ok board for drying

I filled the large vat with one-inch of fresh water and laid out all of my materials. Because I am right-handed, the small beakers holding the paints and the surfactant were off to the right. Chinese or Japanese brushes are necessary for transferring ink and surfactant to the surface of the water. One brush is used for each color and a separate brush is for the surfactant. These brushes are unique to Suminagashi because of how the inner bristles hold the ink and the outer bristles hold a soft tipped shape. Both the ink and surfactant I used came with marbling kit we ordered. I chose two colors to use and placed one drop of the surfactant solution into the paint. This will hold the paint on the surface of the water. To apply the paint to the water, you must very gently place down the tip of the brush to the surface. The paint is immediately pulled out and held on the water’s surface. I held both brushes with the paint in my right-hand and the brush with surfactant in my left-hand. The surfactant is placed on the surface of the water in the same manner as the paint. The surfactant serves as a negative space in the marbling and pushes the paint placed on the water previously to the outside. Alternating paint and then surfactant makes the distinctive marbling pattern. The floating paint can also be moved around by blowing gently on the water. An infinite amount of pattern can be created this way.

When the artist feels they have created a pattern they enjoy, the paper is softly placed on the water. The paper only needs to be on the surface for a couple seconds and then is removed, carefully patted with paper towels, and put on a board to dry. The used paint now must be removed from the surface by dragging paper towels through the water. I recycled the water about every third time I marbled a sheet of paper.

In the package of paint and surfactant, the directions gave another technique of Suminagashi. Dime-shaped white cardboard was provided as float papers. These circles were to be floated on the surface and drops of paint were carefully set onto the paper. They held the paint on the surface without using surfactant. This float paper was necessary to hold the paint because the paint is heavier than the water and would fall to the bottom without some support or a drop of surfactant. This is a more modern form of Suminagashi whereas the other method with the surfactant in the brush is the true style.

Observations and Data

I observed the differences between how well the papers soaked up the floating image. With the pure cotton paper, the sheet immediately absorbed the water and caught the image. The extremely wet piece of paper was removed much more gently, as there was no sizing in the pulp to hold the cotton strongly together. With two drops, I noticed a very slight change in how well the image transferred to the paper. With five drops of sizing in the cotton paper, the sheet seemed to resist the water and therefore needed to soak in the vat for a couple extra seconds to grab the paint. With ten drops in the paper, the sheet was very sturdy and resisting towards the water. Once held in the vat for a bit, it was able grab the image without even getting the other side of the paper wet. The Eastern style paper worked wonderfully. Because of its lightweight, it rolled down smoothly onto the water and lightly transferred the image. When paper had dried, it appeared more natural and in agreement with the Suminagashi image.

I experimented with the usage of surfactant as well. I found that without a drop of the surfactant in the paint, it could still be held lightly on the water’s surface. This did not work nearly as well, but I was able to pick up a design and it dried on the paper. The float paper method was enjoyable to do, as you could mix many different colors, but it not feel like genuine Suminagashi.

Conclusions

From my experience with Suminagashi I have concluded that pure cotton paper without sizing works very well in producing a nice image. Paper with two drops of sizing is manageable, but beyond that and it does not want to soak up the water and image. Nevertheless, I was still able to produce some great marbling images on this paper. I felt that the Eastern paper was the most authentic Japanese paper and was the easiest to place on the water. The float paper method worked too, but is one of the many modern techniques of Suminagashi.

Overall, I found that Suminagashi is truly a special art. Everything is done rhythmically and specifically and the artist must allow the art form to take control. My only part was to place the paint and surfactant on the water’s surface, watch my image be created, and lift the paint from the vat.

Links

- http://home.earthlink.net/~colophon/suminagashi.htm

- www.suminagashi.com

Acknowledgements

- Don Guyot, Suminagashi Brass Galley Press: Seattle, 1990

-Dr. John Bordley