Paintings that begin on the surface of water.
Burcu Yayla practices ebru, the centuries old Turkish art of marbling. Pigment is floated on thickened water, shaped by hand, then lifted onto paper in a single moment that can never be repeated.
Workshops and live demonstrations for schools, festivals and community events across Texas.
Shared with classrooms, festivals and neighbors.
Alongside her studio practice, Burcu teaches marbling as a volunteer at YMCA programs, schools, community events and art festivals, introducing children and adults to a craft that rewards patience.
Invite Burcu to your event- YMCA Programs
- Public Schools
- Preschool Classrooms
- Community Events
- Art Festivals
Made the way it has always been made.
Nothing in ebru arrives ready to use. The pigments, the brushes and the water are all prepared by hand before a single drop touches the surface.
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Pigments ground in a mortar
Natural earth and mineral pigments are ground until they are fine enough to float, then loosened with a few drops of ox gall so the color can open across the water.
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Brushes of rose branch and horsehair
Every brush is tied by hand. A rose branch holds the bristles at the right angle, and horsehair releases the pigment in an even, unhurried spray.
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Water thickened and left to settle
The water is prepared until it can carry color without letting it sink. Combs and needles then draw that color into shawls, waves and flowers.
Art is a language everyone understands. When a child watches color open across the water, the whole room goes quiet.
Burcu Yayla
Marbling artist, from Sanliurfa to Texas
No two prints are ever the same.
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One of a kind
The pigments answer to the water, the air and the hand that moves them. Each print holds a moment that cannot be produced a second time.
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Calm by design
Working with water asks you to slow down. Most people describe the process as meditative long before they see the finished sheet.
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A living heritage
Ebru travelled from Central Asia and was refined over centuries in the Ottoman Empire. It is still handed from master to student, one sheet at a time.
From the tray to the paper.
Traditional patterns, each one named and each one made in a single pass. Select an image to see it larger.
Every tool made by hand.
Brushes, combs and needles are not bought in shops. They are cut, tied and adjusted by the artist, and each one changes the way the color behaves on the water.
Read about Burcu
Trained in Şanlıurfa, working in Texas.
Burcu Yayla is a traditional marbling artist whose work is rooted in the cultural heritage of Şanlıurfa, in southeastern Turkey. Under the guidance of her master she learned every stage of this centuries old art form, from grinding pigments by hand and preparing the water to tying brushes from rose branches and horsehair.
The training asked for patience, discipline and close attention to detail. After six months of working intensively with the materials and techniques, she continued through the traditional marbling patterns and spent three years developing the skill required for intricate floral compositions.
Alongside her artistic practice, Burcu works full time as a preschool teacher. On weekends she volunteers at YMCA programs, schools, community events and art festivals, introducing children and wider audiences to the beauty and meditative nature of marbling.
Now based in Texas, she continues to preserve and share this ancient tradition with new communities. Each piece she creates carries traces of her homeland, her family, and her belief in art as a universal language capable of creating connection, patience and healing.
- Tradition
- Ebru, Şanlıurfa
- Training
- Every stage, under one master
- Floral compositions
- Three years
- Based in
- Texas, United States
In the studio, with a tray of madder red still open.
Bring ebru to your classroom or event.
Hands on workshops, live demonstrations and commissioned pieces. Tell me the group, the date and the space you have in mind, and I will come back with what is possible.