Marbling with Acrylic Paint 2023

Event Info

This one-day, in-person workshop takes place at CBA on Saturday, September 9, from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm.

  • Saturday, September 9, 10:00am – 4:00pm

Please Note: Registration for this workshop closes on September 2, at 11:59pm.


About the Workshop:

This in-person class at Center for Book Arts is taught by instructor Sheryl Oppenheim.

Students will learn about materials and prep for size-based marbling, see examples of marbled papers, and spend most of the class working in their own tray to develop skills for marbling paper. The class will cover basic techniques and how to create the two main types of patterns (stoned patterns and combed patterns).

This workshop is called “Acrylic Marbling” to differentiate it from Turkish (ebru) marbling and traditional European marbling, which use water-based paints. Marbling originated around 1500, with some of the earliest examples found in Qurans and other Islamic religious texts from Persia. This class uses acrylic paint, a modern material, to reproduce traditional marbling patterns while embracing the potential for experimentation and playfulness.

We will learn about the history of marbling and discuss traditional recipes and techniques. Students will learn how to prepare all materials and mix paint. Most of the class will be hands-on worktime, and each student will have their own tray to work in. As the day progresses, we will learn new techniques and patterns.


Required Materials:

  • No required materials for this course

All other materials will be provided by Center for Book Arts at no additional cost.


About Sheryl Oppenheim

Sheryl Oppenheim was born in 1983 and raised in Orlando, Florida.

She is a painter, paper marbler, and maker of illegible books, an idea she first became interested in after seeing the work of Bruno Munari, and through her proximity to books, bookbinders, and marbled paper at her first job in New York, at a bookbinding supply house.

She began marbling paper in 2011 and began learning Suminagashi in 2016. Her artist books and prints are included in public collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Watson Library, the Museum of Modern Art, the Walker Art Center, the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Museum, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts.


All images courtesy of the instructor.

Class size is limited to ensure an optimal participant to Instructor ratio. Register now before spots fill up! Registration for this workshop closes on September 2 at 11:59pm. Tuition for this workshop is $210 + a $50 materials fee.

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