Overview...
 Japanese suminagashi (sue-me-NAH-gah-she) is one of the oldest forms of the art of paper marbling. Although there is no exact date for the invention of marbling paper, suminagashi was practiced in Japan as early as the 12th century. Suminagashi, Japanese for "ink-floating," is created by floating ink on the surface of water and then laying paper across the image so that the ink image is captured on the paper.
Originating in China over 2,000 years ago, it was practiced by the Japanese Shinto priests in the 12th century who allowed black ink drops to spread on a surface of water before they blotted them onto a fresh sheet of white rice paper for the purpose of divination.
Today, artists use acrylic paints that flow and spread over a liquid water surface. Combining the knowledge of fluid mechanics with artistic talent, the artist controls the floating pigments through the viscosity and surface tension of the water to create images suggestive of mountain ranges, landscapes, clouds and animals before printing them on a sheet of paper.
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