Playing with Marbles

Source: Pinterest

Did any of you grow up with those old-school book jackets that had a crazy marble pattern on the cover? I have vivid memories of blowing the dust off such books during bygone visits to India, when I would browse my aunt's novel collection to stave off afternoon boredom.

Marbling has been terribly en vogue for the past year. I'm late to the game, in part because at first I couldn't take it too seriously. Having grown up in India, where marble seemed ubiquitous, I couldn't help but laugh at this new "luxe" trend. Yet, now that I'm a renter, and have lived with everything from cinderblock to bubbled plaster and beige carpeting, I can appreciate the presence of a beautiful marbled surface.

One of the coolest things about marble is that no two pieces appear alike--the striations and hues ostensibly shift and turn of their own accord, lending an incredible organic quality to each surface. With marble you really feel that you have a bridge between a living organism and a piece of art.

On the flip side, I do believe that marble can be misused and quickly slide from luxury into insipidity, or worse yet, garishness. The biggest perpetrators are institutional lobbies for banks, hotels, etc. More often than not, you either barely notice the marble because it's so blandly used, or it assaults your eyes (as in the case below).

Source:  State of Connecticut Legislative Building in Hartford 

That said, there have been many incarnations of marbling since it popularized as an art form in 12th century Japan. I did a little digging and found that it was/is called "Suminagashi," and originated as a technique of decorating paper with 'floating' inks. Apparently it was a highly prized and protected technique in 17th century Europe, until it was given the Edward Snowden treatment by Charles Woolnough, in his book The Art of Marbling. Since then, Woolnough's rivals flocked to uncover additional details, and thus we learned about the secret science of marbling. Design*Sponge has a great article on marbling's history and its many manifestations.

From my perspective, the last two points at which I can recall seeing this much marble -- or 'marbling' of materials -- were Art Deco-era interiors and (in a complete 180) the occasional tie-dye revival. ;o)

Sources: Michael Kors, LR Antiques 

Of course, nowadays, you can 'marble' just about anything: food, nails, you name it--below is a roundup of some fun inspirations from Pinterest.

As you can see, marbling can literally take over every possible surface. What I love, however, is that there's nothing commonplace about the results; they are ingenious and extraordinary, making a marvel of everyday things. That's the testimony of a truly inspiring form of art.