The Art Of Patience

By Stephanie Cook, *Marble artist shows her skills Mine Calik demonstrates unique craft to students* - UAB Kaleidoscope - Birmingham, AL, USA

UAB faculty and students gathered in the HUC Great Hall on Thursday, Jan. 21 to watch Mine Calik of Turkey demonstrate the delicate art of marbling. The event was organized by the UAB Cultural Diversity Club.

Marble art, or ebru, is an old tradition in Turkey. It begins by mixing the correct proportions of seaweed and water. The marbler then mixes soil paint with oxgall, an animal substance that helps the dye to expand.

When the tedious preparation is complete, the marble artist uses a paintbrush to drop the paint into the water and seaweed substance. The artist then makes a design in the jelly-like substance and presses a piece of paper onto it to absorb the dye and make a unique piece of art.

Calik and her husband, who is also a marble artist, moved to the United States in 2004.
“This art is traditional Turkish art…I thought I should bring it to America. I’ve seen marble artists in America, but they are not traditional,” said Calik. She learned the art of marbling on a summer visit back to Turkey in 2006.

The American version strays away from the traditional marbling which practices painting flowers such as the tulip, rose, carnation, hyacinth, daisy, pansy, and field poppy, according to Calik.

Ferhat Zengul, president of the Cultural Diversity Club, helped explain the meaning of marbling, “the deeper meaning of this art goes all the way to the Sufi tradition, and in Sufi tradition everybody has a place, there is nothing ugly,” he said. Sufi is a part of Islam that emphasizes mysticism.

The art is also an expression of destiny because you can’t control the outcome, “that’s a part of destiny, you plan to do something, but you don’t know what will happen,” Zengul said.

Calik explained that the art is unpredictable because there might be bubbles in the paper, or the artist might shake the paper too much, slightly altering the final picture.

“Another name is the art of patience,” Calik said. “When we are preparing dyes and water it is hard.”

Calik said that the preparation for marbling is often harder than making the design because the amount of ingredients has to be very precise. “Sometimes you are thinking, ‘I will give up’…I am still doing it because of my husband…he pushes me, and I push him,” Calik said.

At the event on Thursday, Calik made several marble art pieces, including a rose for UAB President Carol Garrison. Attendees gathered around the table to watch and question Calik. Dressed in a bright red apron and a colorful head covering, Calik answered questions while carefully making each picture.

Calik now lives in Arizona and works as a substitute teacher at the Sonoran Science Academy.
“I got married and wanted to start my Master’s degree” said Calik. She has a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and still hopes to get a Master’s degree so she can teach.

Picture: Mine Calik, a Turkish marble artist, demonstrates her unique skills to students at the Great Hall on Thursday, Jan. 21. Photo: Stephanie Cook/Photo Editor.