Because marbling has a long and rich history, from its origins in Japan to its evolution in Turkey/Persia/India to its travel along the silk road and into Europe, some of its traditional patterns go by many names. This is one of them.

Dating back to the 1600s (and a popular endpaper design in old books), this pattern is usually called French Curl or Snail, though I prefer the Turkish name, Nightingale’s Nest (how sweet is that?!).

What I love about this pattern, and most other traditional patterns, is that it can be made using many different tools (stylus, rake, bouquet comb) and in conjunction with many different patterns (starting with any of the five foundation patterns)…making for wildly beautiful variations.

And that's the beauty of marbling...you can spend days/weeks/months/years working on the same pattern and never run out of inspiration. There's always more to pursue, more to consider, more to explore.