“Run from what's comfortable. Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. Destroy your reputation. Be notorious. I have tried prudent planning long enough. From now on I'll be mad.”
- Rumi
- Rumi
Ebru Art (Ancient Marbling)
Ebru is an art form where you sprinkle paint onto a condensed liquid using various techniques. In this art, planning and design are limited. Each time you “sit on your boat,” the energy (fire) within you, the liquid you use, and the air and earth paints interact differently. As an artist, you can never have full control, and our control in life is an illusion anyway. In this art, some of the most beautiful works are created by accident, just as some loves are formed by accident. Each artwork is unique and never repeatable.
Herstory
Ebru has its origins in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, dating back to the 8th and 9th centuries, and is rooted in Siberian and Central Asian Turco/Altai shamanism. The main roles of the Shamans (Kam) were as healers, communicating with spirits to connect different worlds. The most powerful Kams were (and are) women. During their rituals, Kams would dress femininely, make feminine movements, and produce feminine sounds. Even male Kam's would adopt these traits to strengthen their power over the spirits by convincing them they were female. Some Kams also made prophecies through a form of fortune-telling where they threw paint onto an aqueous surface and interpreted the resulting forms. Ebru is believed to have originated from this tradition. It later spread to Iran, India, and Anatolia via the Silk Road by Sufi dervishes, adopting the Persian name “ebru,” which can mean “face of water” (water surface), “cloud-like,” or “eyebrow.”
During the Ottoman period, Ebru was initially considered a handcraft. It was heavily used in endpapers for bookbinding and as backgrounds for works of hat (calligraphy) and teship(illumination). Ebru reached its refined form in Istanbul, passed down through generations by master-student relationships in dervish lodges. It has been regarded as a mystical art form that occurs in the "moment."
Today, Ebru still exists within Islamic art, carrying its own symbolic meanings. It is thought to be a joint creation of a partial will (human) and a universal will (God). This belief stems from the fact that it is impossible for Ebru to appear in the same form twice, the limited control over the water surface, and the role of chance and mistakes in the creation process.
During the Ottoman period, Ebru was initially considered a handcraft. It was heavily used in endpapers for bookbinding and as backgrounds for works of hat (calligraphy) and teship(illumination). Ebru reached its refined form in Istanbul, passed down through generations by master-student relationships in dervish lodges. It has been regarded as a mystical art form that occurs in the "moment."
Today, Ebru still exists within Islamic art, carrying its own symbolic meanings. It is thought to be a joint creation of a partial will (human) and a universal will (God). This belief stems from the fact that it is impossible for Ebru to appear in the same form twice, the limited control over the water surface, and the role of chance and mistakes in the creation process.
“ If you try to change it, you will ruin it. Try to hold it, and you will lose it." — Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
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