this week
Studio appointments are available Thursday, Friday & Saturday
(714) 379-1990    info@mayusilkart.com
​or use the Reservation Form on our Events Page
All ages and abilities are welcome

Dear Friends,
Amazed. Dumbfounded. Overwhelmed. Excited. Energized. Exhausted. Grateful. Those are just a few words to describe what we are feeling in the wake of a recent video featuring Mayu Silk Art, that went viral (over 43 million views and counting). In the midst of all this excitement, our response time is going to be impacted. Your requests and inquiries are important to us and we'll get back to you ASAP. Thank you for your patience. ​

Quick links to our most popular pages are posted below

• “Mayu Silk Art is pure magic!  ​

Our guests are instantly mesmerized by this unique art form and  can’t help but stop, watch, participate and buy.  
Phil and Star are true professionals and bring great knowledge and fun to every event they do.  
They are one of our best vendors for LA LIVE Dark Nights”.  
- Jim Madsen Sr. Vice President LA LIVE Operations

COMING SOON - Marbling kits for new learners
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CLICK TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR BUSINESS CLASSES

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SCARF PAINTING SESSIONS & EVENT CALENDAR

ONLINE STORE

TEAM BUILDING & CORPORATE EVENTS

PRIVATE PARTIES & SPECIAL OCCASIONS

See what folks are saying about the unique Mayu Silk Art Experience

Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish any of our written content, please rewrite the text in your own unique words and link back to http://www.MayuSilkArt.com or the page from which you have pulled the content. Thank you!

​Who we are!

​​Utilizing modern, eco-friendly and upcycled materials, we bring the beautiful, ancient art of water marbling to the 21st century. Onlookers crowd around to watch "designers" of all ages and abilities make their own one-of-a-kind handmade water-marbled silk scarves. Each artist applies acrylic paint to the special water bath, floating the colors in our custom-built water marbling trays, then uses marbling combs, rakes, or stylus to create the design to their liking. It is a true "WOW" moment when the finished scarf is held up for all to see! 

And we like to party!  Corporate team building and employee appreciation events, trade shows, private parties, image enhancement programs for hospitals and outreach centers, bridal showers, birthdays and anniversaries, mitzvahs, quinceaneras, sororities and women's guild programs, fundraisers and galas - you name it.  We bring a very professional, polished, interactive, and engaging presence to any event. 

CLICK HERE TO BOOK US FOR YOUR SPECIAL EVENT

We also offer custom-ordering of artisan-made marbled silk products, including scarves, headbands, bowties, neckties, throw pillows, placemats and napkins, hand painted origami flowers, and water marbled cotton or other fabrics for quilters and crafters to use in their projects. Please visit our online store Here.

We can also work with you to design your own silk ribbon or sashes or veils for bridal parties, mitzvahs, or other special events. 

At various times throughout the year, luxurious artisan scarves designed by our founder, Star McCain, may be seen on display in the Museum Store at The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, CA.  

For booking information, or to place an order, please call 714-379-1990 or follow this link to go to the Mayu Silk Art Contact Page.

Check out this blog entry from crafter extraordinaire Jane LeFazio, who was a guest at a Mayu Silk Art party in July 2015: http://janeville.blogspot.com/2015/08/fun-artist-date-with-friends.html

Gift certificates are good toward any Mayu Silk Art product or service in our booth, online or by phone.

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Mayu Silk Art is proud to partner with the following groups:

• University of Irvine Campus Assault Resource & Education (C.A.R.E.)
• Children's Cancer Network
• ​Hoag Family Cancer Institute

We are also glad to help support:

• Girls Inc. of Orange County
• AYSO Region 56
• Glennwood House​

Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish any of our written content, please rewrite the text in your own unique words and link back to http://www.MayuSilkArt.com or the page from which you have pulled the content. Thank you!

 WHAT IS MARBLING ANYWAY?

 Essentially, water marbling involved floating a medium on the surface of a liquid- or gel-filled bath to create a design, then transferring the design to paper, fabric or 3D object by dipping it into the bath. For us, specifically, it means using traditional techniques and modern materials to create magical, artful moments and beautiful lasting works of art with others.

Though marbling has been around for nearly 1200 years, it has been shrouded in mystery for much of it's existence.  At times enjoying great popular demand, it's processes and techniques were kept secret by the artisans who used them. Indeed, the art form nearly died out around the turn of the 20th century. But with modern materials and technologies available, water marbling has taken on new uses. A Google search of "water marbling" will yield hundreds of YouTube videos on how to water marble your finger nails; a related process called "hydro dipping" combines digital printing and mass production  with water marbling concepts to paint everything from tire rims to military helmets.

EARLY HISTORY

Examples of an art form known as suminagashi, or "ink floating," date back to the 10th century. Suminigashi uses traditional Japanese materials, such as sumi inks and a surfactant made from pine tree resin. It is usually done on rice paper or silk and some researchers believe it was originally used to mark court documents, to prevent forgery or alteration. 

Another type of marbling, Ebru , Turkish for "cloud art," is believed to have been invented in thirteenth century Turkistan. These marblers used thickened water, which was similar to the marbling solutions of today, allowing for more intricately detailed, flowing designs.  Ebru can be seen today in the bazaars of this arid region, where its' elaborate patterns, rich color, and floral motifs have religious significance to people of the Islam faith.

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, marbling spread through Europe by way of Marco Polo and the silk road. Although widespread from Italy (16th century Domino Papers) to France, Holland (which imported papers to England, where the art took on lasting roots), to Germany, the trade secrets were carefully guarded by only a handful of people.  They named patterns after their countries: i.e., Old Dutch, French Curl, and Italian Hair Vein, terms which are still used today. Apprentice marblers were taught only one step of the marbling process, often working behind closed partitions to keep them separated from the other workers. Most marbling at that time was used for decorative bookbinding. This use can still be seen today in the end papers of older books.

LATER HISTORY

And here's a little known fact: for a time here in the United States, our very own Benjamin Franklin, a printer by trade, convinced Congress to marble paper money at one end, in an effort to prevent forgery. 

Finally, in 1853, a couple of marblers broke the silence by publishing detailed instructions which redefined and simplified the marbling process and created a growth spurt of marbling in Europe and the U.S. which persisted into the first half of the 20th century. Until the computer superseded the ledger, it was usual for ledgers to have marbled edges. If a page was removed from the book, the marbled edge pattern revealed the theft, thus limiting embezzlement or dishonest financial transactions.

By the time bookbinders got their hands on these coveted recipes, book production had become automated with machines and fine craftsmanship was not valued over high volume. The invention of acrylic paint in the 1950's made it possible to marble on fabric for the first time. However, marbling as an art form almost faded into obscurity until the 1970's, when a passion for crafts and handmade books emerged and helped renew the old techniques.

CURRENT APPLICATIONS

Today, marbling is going strong with hundreds of master artists around the world who explore and revitalize the traditional methods, bringing new ideas to this wonderful form of expression. Marbled paper is still made today, and the method is now applied to fabric and three-dimensional surfaces, as well as paper. Aside from continued traditional applications, artists now explore using the method as a kind of painting technique, and as an element in collage.  A more modern term for the art is "hydro dipping," and is often done by printing a design on a gel, laying the gel sheet on the surface of water, misting water over the gel to fully hydrate the inks, and then dipping the object into the now-liquid inks floating on the surface.  In the last few decades, marbling has been the subject of international symposia and museum exhibitions. An active international group can be found on Yahoo! Groups, as well as the Society of Marbling, an organization of practicing marblers.

Mayu Silk Art is pleased to bring this beautiful art form out of the artists' studio and into our communities, where it can be enjoyed and explored by people of all ages, genders, abilities and walks of life. This is marbling for the people, by the people.

Learn more about us by going to our blog here: http://www.mayusilkart.com/blog
Or check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MayuSilkArt

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