'Cloud Artist' Marbles Her Way to Happiness

In 2005, Barbara Skoog traveled for a weekend to Santa Fe, NM, where she stumbled upon a museum exhibition on marbling, the medieval art of aqueous surface design noted for the exquisitely patterned end sleeves in some of the world’s rarest hardcover books.

The exhibition, which had 35 marbled pieces by artists from 33 countries “blew my mind away,” recalls Skoog, who has lived in South Pasadena for the past decade. “I had never seen people work in this kind of medium before. I was enthralled.”

After she enrolled for a weekend course with the exhibition’s curator, Skoog was hooked. She’s been marbling ever since, virtually every day, working from the spacious garage of her home.

The type of marbling that Skoog does originated in Turkey, where it’s called ebru, or “cloud art.” Strictly speaking, that association with Turkey makes Skoog a cloud artist,—a title she loves to embrace.

Skoog marbles on wood, paper and fabric. “I joke with my husband that if it’s not bolted down I will marble on it,” she says.

Skoog also makes journals, bookmarks and greeting cards. In addition, she collaborates with a fashion accessories designer who takes her work and turns them into such items as purses and belts.

But her primary focus is fine art. “My heart and soul work is creating those pieces that make people stop and think,” says Skoog, adding: “A lot of my pieces I don’t name because if I do that I feel as though I’m going to influence people see. I like to see people interact and I like to see what they see in a piece.”

Skoog offers classes. She teaches an intensive two-day weekend immersion course, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., in which, she says, “you learn everything about marbling—how to make the bath and your own tools. There’s also a three-hour course titled “Experience the Tank” aimed at showing students what can be done in a tank and how much fun it can be.

Skoog also teaches a five-hour course titled “Introduction to Marbling,” which is a bit deeper than the three-hour one. Finally, once a month, Skoog offers what she calls “Open Studio”—an opportunity for former students to come in and practice free of cost, except for the materials used.

Click here to check out Barbara Skoog’s work.