Marbling refers to a process to transfer ink or dye patterns from some liquid and on to paper and later, leather. It is known to have been in use as far back as the 12th century in Japan where it was known as Suminagashi or “Ink Floating”.
By the 15th century, the Turks, Persians, and Indians were producing marbled paper which featured some amazingly complex designs.
Marbling has continued to evolve over time and has become quite a diverse art form. Marbled paper continues to be an amazing process and leather can be marbled in the same way as paper (on water or oil) but this does not lend itself to belts and wristbands such as I make.
Another process for marbling involves using a bed of shaving creme on which you dropper dye and then carefully swirl / stir to make patterns. The picture below is a marbling bed all prepared for a belt.
Here is what I got out of that marbling bed. This belt has a tendency to change colors with different lighting. There is a lot of purple in it.
In general, the end result tends to not even remotely resemble what was on the shaving creme. It’s so random. For me, there is a strong tendency to get patterns that resemble faces within the piece. Some belts look back when you look at them. I call this little green guy “George” and he lives in the jungle of his belt.
Each Alejandro marbled piece is a unique work – never to be repeated due to the nature of the art. Know that if you see a particular piece and want something like it, you are unlikely to get it. I am continually surprised with each piece I do and efforts to recreate previous patterns or themes has resulted in very different things.
At Alejandro Leather, the shaving creme process of marbling is used – particularly since it lends itself to marbling of double layer leather products. The shaving creme marbling process is much less controllable than the water or oil methods but that is part of the enjoyment. Each piece is a surprise and completely unique.
