Introduction to Paper Marbling

Introduction to Paper Marbling

Saturday, September 13, 2025 | 9:00AM – 4:00PM
2926 S. Steele St, Tacoma, WA 98409 – 2nd Floor

Registration is Required

Introduction to the art of marbling will provide students with an understanding of the history, styles, tools and techniques of classical European Marbling.

• Morning discussion will cover all the foundational elements of Marbling practice: acquisition and proper use of the supplies, (many and varied) including carrageenan, primer, paints, trays, rakes, combs, etc.
  
• During the discussion each student will also be engaged in the preparatory mixing of the water medium in their own tray.
  
• Pietro will then demonstrate to the class how Marbling is executed. With helpful instruction on handling paints on the water medium, dealing with known and unknown variables; he will show how to create classical and basic Marbling patterns (as well as spontaneous designs) using a diverse array of rakes and combs.
  
• Students will have ample time for their own practice and experimentation with personal guidance from Pietro. Each student will have their own tray, set of paints, rakes, combs and paper.
  

Meet the Presenter: Pietro Accardi

Pietro learned Paper marbling more than 30 years ago in Italy, thanks to a German marbling kit that was donated to him. He is self taught meaning that he has learnt from millions of trials and errors. At that time he had a lot of space in the family printing press to make the first messing experiments. It was love at first sight: when graduating from a bachelor in Graphic Arts the subject of his graduation Thesis was about applying the knowledge of scientific color theory in paper marbling.

He started using his marbled paper when working with the restoration of books for libraries. Pietro loves to teach and to share his knowledge. He has discovered that ,sharing freely all the “secrets” of the trade, he has learnt, in return, so much from all his students…… and he keeps learning.

http://www.accardibookarts.com/