Art Branches

MARBLING ART

Ebru is the art of decorating plain paper with colorful and wavy lines using special methods. Paper decorated with this method is also called marbling.

The origin of the art of marbling, which comes from the Persian word "ebr" meaning "cloud", is Turkestan. He came from Turkistan to Iran and Turkey. It is an ancient Turkish art. Very successful examples have been made in Turkey, and the most valuable of them are exhibited in Istanbul Topkapı Palace.

With this method, plain white papers; they take on wavy shapes like clouds or veined marble. Marbling papers are used as a backdrop on the inside covers of book bindings, and on handwritten sheets in calligraphy. While Turkish marbling masters decorated the papers by waving them, they also embroidered motifs such as flowers on it.

How is Ebru Made?
In addition to paper, tragacanth, a kind of gum from bushes, mineral or chemical powder paint is used for marbling. In the past, dyes such as labor, betahshi, bengal and indigo were used. A plate, a small animal, a watercolor brush, a coffee spoon, a wooden spoon, and a bowl are the tools of the art of marbling.

Since turbid water is dense and sticky, it prevents the paints from floating. The venom of the fresh cattle, which is added to the dyes and obtained from the slaughterhouse, also prevents them from sinking to the bottom. A certain amount of tragacanth is mixed with water of a certain scale, which is placed in a deep container. Tragacanth is melted by crushing it with a spoon. The water is mixed until it reaches the consistency of boza or intense olive oil. Meanwhile, the dyes are thoroughly beaten separately and ground into fine flour. Honey-like slurries are formed by adding tragacanth water to the paints in separate containers. A certain amount of lye is added to these slurries and the slurry is thoroughly fed. Tragacanth water is poured into the vessel in which the marbling will be made. A small amount of powdered paint is taken with a watercolor brush and thrown into the tragacanth water. Start with dark colors first. Since the paints are dense and sticky, they stay on the tragacanth water.

The marbling master places the paints on the surface of the water as desired. Then, with the help of a needle, he touches the paints to shape and wave them. Then the paper to be marbling is gently placed on its face. In order for the paper not to absorb too much dye, it should not be kept in water too much. The dyed paper is removed from the water, its water and tragacanth are filtered, and dried by hanging it from one corner in a cool and shaded place. Drying should not be done in the heat or in the sun. The papers to be used in the art of marbling should be paint absorbent and not glued before.

If the paints are intact, they can be painted on a second paper in the same water. Today, marbling patterns are also tried on printed papers, wallpapers and fabrics. The art of marbling is also used in leatherwork. Marbling of leather is done with sponge. In the marbling of papers and book edges, a marbling shape is created by sprinkling materials mixed with beeswax and mullein with a brush on the bath prepared with gum arabic. These colors, which remain like marble veins on the bathroom, do not mix with each other. The edge of the paper or book to be marbling is painted by touching it lightly.

Some of the marbling types;

Each Ebru master has his own unique shapes. So much so that it can be understood who made Ebru by looking at these shapes. Marblings are named according to their types and those who make them. Major Marblings are:

Somaki Marbling: Marbling resembling Somaki marble veins.

Sandy Marbling: Marbling resembling sprinkled grains of sand.

Stenciled Marbling: Marbling with different edges and a different color in the middle part to be written.

Over Marbling : Ebru with fine starch and egg white.

Orator Marbling: Marbling made by an artist who was an orator in Hagia Sophia in the 18th century.

KATI' (QUILLING) WORKS

It is also written as KAAT'I. (Arabic fold: cutting), the art of carving out paper or leather. These ornaments, which look like lace, are called Katia, and those who make them are called Katta (cutting, carving). Kati' was adopted and spread especially in Iran and the Ottomans.

  In Kati art works, the paper to be engraved should neither be too thin nor too thick. (In the past, colored and usually graded or well-sealed papers were used rather than white paper for this work.) 5-6 layers of paper of suitable quality are glued to a wooden base. For this, glue made of non -stick starch or starch is used. The bottom one of the papers is glued to the board only from all four sides, the middle is left blank. After waiting for a while, the pattern drawn on the top of the drying paper is cut with a chisel or a carving tool. The piece carved out in Kati art is called "male carving" and the remaining piece is called "female carving". The carved pieces are thrown into cold water to separate the papers from each other. These pieces are then glued onto a substrate on which a special adhesive is applied. This glue is prepared by mixing flour or starch with water and cooking, then adding Çiriş into it. Book pages are decorated with various flowers, leaves, vases, even human figures and geometric patterns prepared in accordance with the Art of 'Kati', and book covers are made. In the same way, writing samples can be created with the cut letters.

     It is claimed that the art of Kati, which is also known in the east in China and Japan, emerged in Herat before Islam and is based on leather carving. The roots of this are the 8th-9th centuries of the Uyghur Turks. It dates back to the centuries-old book and Binding art. The most important Kattas in the Art of Kati known to the Ottomans are Fahri Dede from Bursa and Mahmud of Gazne, both of whom lived in the 17th century.

MOSAIC ART

Mosaic is the art of painting and decoration created by cutting stones of various sizes and colors collected from nature, enriching them with different materials such as glass, wood, semi-precious stones and enamel, and bringing them together on a plane.

   While the Mosaic works were monochromatic and quite plain at first, they became very colorful and striking in the following periods. In a period, important paintings of his age were copied. In the early periods, mosaic works were mostly composed of geometric and vegetal depictions, fabrics or works belonging to other art branches, the main ones of which were ornamental motifs used in carving. However, there was a significant increase in the number of mosaic works with figures during the Roman period. These figured mosaics are often the subject of famous literary texts or religious legends. Today, these figured mosaic works shed light on the beliefs, literature and lifestyle of the period they were made.

Contemporary Mosaic making techniques;

- Cutting techniques
- Bonding techniques
- Joining
- Framing
- Hanging
- Mounting on a floor or wall
- Lighting
- Backgrounds
- Corners
- Motifs

TILE- CERAMIC - POTTERY ART

Ceramics, items for use or ornamental purposes, obtained by shaping clay and firing at high temperatures, and the material from which these items are made. Pots made of ceramics are generally referred to as pottery, and wall coverings are referred to as tiles.

     In Turkish architectural art, tiles have been used as an element of decoration inside and outside the buildings. Tile art is seen in all regions where Turks spread. This art, which colors the architecture, showed its main stage enriched with various techniques and patterns in Anatolian Turkish architecture. Turks adhered to the tile and ceramic art of the Great Seljuks in early examples. Later, Tile, Ceramic, Pottery art took a unique form. In the 14th century, with the independent principalities of various Turkish communities, the tile art entered a new phase of exploration and experimentation in the art and cultural life of Anatolia. Turkish tile and ceramic art in Anatolia, especially in the 13th-19th centuries. Over the centuries, it has brought great innovations and gained appreciation in the world with various techniques, colors and patterns. The tile art, which developed depending on architecture, entered Anatolia with the Seljuks and gave the most beautiful and successful examples with various techniques.

Tile Techniques;

- Embossing technique
- Mosaic technique
- Slip technique
- Luster technique
- Minai technique
- Color Glaze technique
- Scraping technique
- Pouring technique