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Year 1

Make decorative paper using marbling techniques

I can use a variety of marbling techniques.

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New
New
Year 1

Make decorative paper using marbling techniques

I can use a variety of marbling techniques.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Artists can make marbled prints in many different ways.
  2. Suminagashi printing is one form of marbling that originated in Japan.
  3. Marbling can be made with coloured inks and shaving foam.

Keywords

  • Marbling - floating inks or pigments on liquid, then transferring this onto paper

  • Suminagashi - a Japanese marbling technique

  • Ink - a dark or coloured liquid that can be used for drawing, writing or printing

Common misconception

Marbling prints can only be made in one way.

Marbling can be made in lots of different ways, such as ink or chalk floating on water. Marbling can also be made with shaving foam.


To help you plan your year 1 art and design lesson on: Make decorative paper using marbling techniques, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

For Task B, children can make multiple prints from the same ink and foam mix. Because of this, children could work in pairs for this activity.
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Teacher tip
equipment-required

Equipment

printing trays, Suminagashi ink, paintbrushes, bottles or jugs of water, cups, pipettes, washing up liquid, inks, shaving foam, spatulas, paper towels, scraping tool

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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4 Questions

Q1.
Inspiration means ...
copying another artwork.
stealing an idea.
Correct answer: having an idea because of something else.
Q2.
Before making art you should ...
Correct answer: gather the materials and equipment you will need.
do no preparing.
use any materials we want.
Q3.
All art making uses the same materials.
True: All art making uses the same materials.
Correct answer: False: You can use different materials to make art.
Q4.
Which of these is not usually an art material?
a pencil
oil pastels
Correct answer: a spatula

4 Questions

Q1.
Suminagashi is a Japanese marbling technique.
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: True
False
Q2.
is floating inks or pigments on liquid, then transferring this onto paper.
An image in a quiz
Texture
Inspiration
Correct answer: Marbling
Painting
Q3.
What is this called?
An image in a quiz
oil
Correct answer: ink
soap
Q4.
What equipment is needed to create a marbled print with shaving foam?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: printing tray
scissors
Correct answer: ink
Correct answer: paper