The magic of the ancient ebru - drawing on the water

A creative person is peculiar to search for all new ways of self-expression, for example, such as unconventional techniques of Suminaga and ebru - drawing on the water. Both of them came to us from the depths of the centuries and were originally people's "inventions." Thanks to such technologies, ancient masters imitated in their works various textures and created intricate abstractions. In this article we will look at where the ebru technique (water drawing) came from, its various types, the tools and materials necessary for the work, and whether it is possible to do it all on our own.

What it is?

Ebru is an old graphic technique that allows you to get a colorful impression from the water surface in one step. As a result, a unique pattern remains on the surface of the fabric or paper. In the traditional Turkish technique, murals on water combine and complement each other elements of painting and techniques that are characteristic for prints.

When and where did the ebru appear?

Among modern researchers of this drawing technique, disputes are still debated about where and when it appeared. They are one in one: this is the oldest kind of folk art, developed over the centuries, has eastern roots. According to one version, ebru - drawing on the water, appeared in India, and then through Persia came to the Ottoman Empire, as it used to be called Turkey. Supporters of another theory consider Bukhara to be the birthplace of this artistic technique, from where it spread further.

What does ebru mean?

As with the history of origin, the origin of the name of this art is also unclear. Some scientists believe that it happened from "ebri", meaning in translation from Farsi "cloud". Others suggest a linguistic ancestor in Chongay or Arabic. In the countries of the Old World, the art of ebru - drawing on the water, appeared only in the 16th century, and the peak of its popularity occurred in the 17th-19th centuries. Since the technique was brought from Istanbul, Europeans often call it "Turkish paper".

Types of ebru

Modern artists widely use in their practice various types of this technique of drawing on water. Let's briefly dwell on the most common:

1. Akkase Ebru - when several layers of paint are applied, alternately, to the same paper sheet as it dries.

2. Waves or Gel-Git. Even a beginner will not make much effort to make such an ebru. The technique is simple: on the prepared water surface, paint is sprayed, after which a shilom or a pointed bamboo stick is carried along the lines parallel to each other.

3. Battal ebru is the most traditional and simple technique, in which the artist only needs to spray paint on the surface of the water, and then, without making any changes, transfer the pattern to paper or fabric.

4. Ebru Khatib technique, was invented by the Islamic preacher (imam-hatib) Mehmet Efendi at the beginning of the XVIII century. This technique served as a transition, from abstract drawings obtained in battal, to images of flowers. In addition, thanks to hatib ebru drawing on the water has the opportunity to create an ornament.

5. Images of flowers, better known as the Ebro of Necmeddin, named so by the name of its inventor. This technique is based on working with an awl over concentric circles of different sizes.

Preparation of aqueous solution

Unlike the Japanese suminaga, which uses ordinary water, in Turkish technology, ebro is used, thickened with a special herbal extract, an aqueous solution. A thickener is obtained from the prickly Astralagus (Geven) plant growing in the mountainous regions of Pakistan, Iran and Turkey, which is cut in the middle of summer, and the resin obtained is dried in the sun. As a result, a petal ketra is obtained, which for two weeks, you can get a solution of the desired consistency. Today on sale there is already ready, powdered extract, which is insisted all day. Our compatriots mastering ebru, drawing on the water, use the thickener, more common among us, agar-agar, obtained from red seaweed and widely used in the cosmetic and food industries. To create a homogeneous aqueous medium, the agar-agar thickened solution must be filtered through nylon or gauze, after which the container is covered with a newspaper or thick paper. This way you can collect all the microscopic bubbles and get a uniform work composition.

To be useful to anyone who aspires to master the Turkish technique of ebru, a master class on the preparation of a water base:

1. If you are lucky, and you managed to buy powdered extract of gauvin, put it in water, mix thoroughly and leave for a day.

2. The settled solution must be passed through gauze or kapron, covered with a newspaper and left for a few minutes.

3. We shoot the newspaper and get down to art.

Other materials

In addition to the thickened aqueous solution for drawing on water in the technique of ebru, other materials will be required:

• Paints, completely natural, consist of colored pigments, animal bile and water. Outwardly they are very similar to ordinary colored water.
• A flat pallet in which you will create compositions on the water.
• A set of brushes made of natural hair, a column or squirrels.
• Silo or any long and sharpened from one end of the object, for example, a wooden skewer or a bamboo stick. Carefully working with colors on a dense surface, you can create original color transitions and visual images.
• The scallop. Folk craftsmen make a special tool, however, you can use any cheap plastic scallop to get the scales in the picture.

Ebru: master class

After all materials and tools have been prepared, the aqueous solution has been infused, you can proceed to creativity:

1. Place a few drops of paint on the water surface with a brush.

2. Using a comb, an awl or tools to replace them, try to give the form you have conceived to the drops. This is quite difficult, as to predict where the paint will move is very difficult.

3. When you find that the drawing on the water is completely ready for you, take a thick paper or a plain cloth.

4. Very gently place it on the surface of the water. As soon as the sheet falls flat on the whole drawing, gently and smoothly remove it.

5. As a result, you should get a sheet of paper with a unique pattern and a clean surface of a thick foundation. If there are small traces of paint on the water, gently clean them with a newspaper.