Meet the maker: Rachel O’Connell
In this instalment of Meet the maker we catch up with new tutor Rachel O'Connell who will be teaching courses on marbling at our West Sussex campus this winter. We wanted to find out a little more about her road to marbling and what influences her work.
Can you share a bit about your journey and how you got started with marbling?
I have always loved colour and patterns. I discovered marbling at the age of 6, when my grandmother commissioned marbled wallpaper panels from Douglas Cockerell and Sons. I was drawn to the European patterns they made and colours used. She had a library of leather books with marbled end papers.
I visited Turkey on a school trip when I was 16 and encountered Turkish Ebru marbling. I was hooked! My creative learning began in Turkey and then I continued to build skills, combining my love of travelling with marbling courses with artists across the world. I also did a Graphics course at Reading University, as there weren’t any surface pattern courses at the time. Though I started working life as a screen printer, marbling remained by passionate hobby, until I turned professional in 2021.
Can you share a memorable experience or moment in your career?
Since launching my business I have had so many wonderful experiences. I have been able to exhibit in Manchester Art Gallery and now have work in The British Museum. The best memories are from my tutoring. I tutor from age 4 upwards in schools, community groups, galleries, museums, as well as working 1:1 with special needs, trauma survivors and dementia patients. It’s a privilege to connect creatively people.
What inspires your work?
Inspiration comes from where I live, my love of art, interior design, fashion and music. I have travelled and lived in many countries, so draw from these experiences. Designing from materials, will often inspire the outcome, a pattern or the colours used. I tend to lean towards a muted, nature-inspired colour palette, with a pop of a bright colour. This is likely influenced from my walks along the beautiful beaches and on Dartmoor here in Devon.
When making a new product, I think about the practical as well as the aesthetic. As a sustainable artist, it also has to have minimal environmental impact, so I source much of my raw materials from the UK, often saving them from landfill, or repurposing materials from items which would have gone to landfill. I am currently working with The Royal Opera House to repurpose their theatrical textiles.
How important do you think it is to experiment and play in the creative process?
Don’t tell anyone but a marbling day is always a play day! I have discovered patterns through having a play and I am constantly learning, as I create my pigment paints and recently started making my own plant dyes. I am constantly experimenting with materials to see how they can be marbled. Current work in progress is repurposing tea bag paper, which I have received from Taylors of Harrogate to ink marble for lighting.
Can you share five reasons someone should try marbling?
It is a mindful experience. The patterns created are mesmerising and the breathwork we use, helps calm the mind. You get to have fun, be messy, play with colour and create beautiful patterns. Marbling brings out your inner playful child.
You are teaching the short courses ‘Introduction to Suminagashi and European marbling’ and ‘Marbling, combs and waves on paper and textiles’ at West Dean this winter – what can students expect from these courses?
We start by learning Suminagashi ink marbling, the origin of marbling. We use breathwork and simple tools to create our organic patterns. The European marbling is much messier, with acrylic paints flicked on the marbling bath. I always recommend you wear old clothes and shoes for these sessions, though aprons and gloves are provided, the paint can end up on clothing.
You will learn how to prepare your paper, inks, paints and marbling mixture. You’ll gain tips on the best papers to use, as well as which fabrics and textiles work best for marbling. You will be taught the basic heritage patterns on both courses, with addition of using combs to create more complex patterns and how to make a wave pattern on the later course.
