Suminagashi Marbling

Event Info

This one-day, in-person workshop takes place at CBA on Saturday, July 15, from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm.

  • Saturday, July 15, 10:00 am–4:00 pm

Please Note: Registration for this workshop closes on July 8, at 11:59pm.


About the Workshop:

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

Suminagashi (translation: spilled or floating ink) is a style of marbling that originated in Japan by the year 1100. It is the oldest form of marbling and is just done with water and ink! In this class, students will learn a bit about the history of suminagashi marbling and look at examples of work by contemporary and historic practitioners. They will learn about the materials used in suminagashi, how to prepare them, and then spend the rest of the class practicing suminagashi. As the day progresses we will learn new techniques and experiment with using different types of paper.

Students will come away with marbled paper of their own as well as a newfound knowledge of the suminagashi technique.


Required Materials:

  • Students are not required to bring any materials. 

All 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 July 8 at 11:59pm. Participants are required to comply with CBA’s Covid-19 health and safety measures. The tuition for this class is $210 + a $50 materials fee.

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