MARBLE PRINTMAKING: AN ENDURING EXPRESSION OF ELEGANCE, WITH CAT ALEXANDER

Dec 9, 2024

8 min read

Cat Alexander’s wallpapers and fabrics are labours of love. Blending the timeless elegance of ancient Japanese Suminagashi and Turkish Ebru techniques, Cat creates distinct marbled patterns that transform spaces with breathtakingly beautiful surface texture and colour.

Artist Cat Alexander practicing Suminagashi and Erbu marbling

Photo: Cat Alexander in her Austin studio.

Between past and present, marble endures as a testament to timeless elegance in interior design. Inspired by classical Greek sculptures, columns, paving stones, and meditative printmaking practices, today marble continues to symbolize classic refinement and luxury. Austin-based artist Cat Alexander translates her hand-dyed marble prints into a collection of exclusive wallpapers and fabrics for interiors under her eponymous brand. From intense drama to soothing tranquility, Cat’s designs easily adapt to a variety of decorative styles; they exude versatility and longevity. CLOTH HALL recently connected with Cat to discuss marble printmaking, her creative process, and how marble resists all trends both as a material and as a printmaking technique, standing the test of time with strength and grace.

Cat Alexander's walllpapers in Home and Studio series qualities.

Photo: Calypso, Cortina and Folklore Home and Studio series wallpapers.

Thanks for joining us, Cat. Please introduce yourself and tell us about your work.

Thank you, Sarah - I am delighted to be part of the Cloth Hall community. I am an artist located in Austin, Texas. I am originally from Texas but spent about a decade pretending I was going to live elsewhere until I found myself back running around Lady Bird Lake every morning. I was raised by artists and architects and from an early age benefitted from tagging along to spectacular studio art classes and experiences. I spent my childhood taking art classes all year and attending a fine arts academy in the summers. After college, I spent two decades in a variety of non-art related business roles and I still dedicate a large part of my time and attention to improving the literacy outcomes of children in the state of Texas.

About three years ago, I found myself spending more and more time steeped in the artistic practice of Suminagashi, studying Turkish marbling techniques, mixing pigments, and tinkering with making prints on paper and fabric remnants. I became mesmerized with the practice of creating a still print that in many ways reflected the organic movement of the water in which the artwork was created. As I worked the ink into the water, I imagined myself being immersed in the design.

One day, as I stood there splattered in ink and surrounded by prints, I decided to find a way to translate the feeling of being immersed in the artwork to a scalable reality. The initial idea - wallpaper and textiles - so, over a period of nine months I merged my seemingly disparate artistic and business experience into one and launched Cat Alexander Design.

Photo: Folklore printed on Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified cotton/linen blend.

When did you first learn about marble printmaking and what drew you to it?

Early on, I was especially drawn to photography and the practice of fabric printmaking. The freedom of mixing pigments to create a unique colour and then playing with the saturation of the dye on various parts of the fabric drew me to the practice. With photography, I loved the exploration of printing the photos on a number of surfaces including cloth and various papers. I spent hour upon hour in the darkroom burning and dodging images, playing with sepia tones, and layering images on top of one another. In both practices, there was a “right” way to mix the print dye or the chemicals. I was drawn to learning that “right” way and then immediately to explore tweaking the margins to explore what I could craft beyond a traditional print. It is this same philosophy that draws me to my current practice for Cat Alexander Design Studio artwork.

What inspires you most about Suminagashi?

The meditative act of doing Suminagashi is what inspires me most. Traditionally, it is done with one ink colour and one surfactant in a basin of water. Dropping the ink and then the surfactant into the basin one after the other and watching the design evolve in the water is rhythmic and immersive. The act of making one print can take hours. I get completely lost in a piece of artwork when I am creating it.

What is the difference between Japanese Suminagashi and Turkish Ebru and how do you combine both techniques in your work?

There are a number of differences between the two - one fundamental oversimplification for the purposes of how they influence the Cat Alexander Design Studio work is that Suminagashi is generally done with one colour while Turkish marbling generally involves multiple colours. A completely personal difference in how I think of them is that the art of practicing Suminagashi influences my mindset while I drop my ink and surfactant into the basin. Then Turkish marbling influences my shift in focus to manipulating the ink once it is in the basin. Ironically, I rarely have a concept of how a print will translate to a wallcovering or textile in mind as I am making it. For me, that is a completely separate part of the design arc in making a Cat Alexander Design Studio product.

How do you describe your design process?

My current design process has four general phases.

Preparation: The discipline required in the preparation phase of my printmaking is a continued work in progress for me. I have to be far more precise and patient than my general preference as I treat the paper and prepare the water mixture with enough time to let them both dry and settle thoroughly. I adore the process of making my own pigments, but have learned the hard way I must take meticulous notes as I adjust the dye to oil ratios if I want them to float and stick properly. The vibrancy of the colours and the durability of the ink on the paper after it’s been printed and dried, all depend on the quality of the preparation that went into making it.
Printmaking: Currently, I do almost all of my printmaking outdoors, which is an absolute treat. All of the Cat Alexander Design Studio prints are inspired by a sight or a feeling experienced while exploring in nature. Once I have set up my materials in a spot – currently under the big branches of a pecan in Austin, Texas – I methodically work the pigments into a basin of natural sea moss and water and then carefully submerge treated paper to capture the design.
Wallpaper & Textile Application: Each original piece of art is reproduced digitally as a wallpaper or textile that evokes a feeling of nature, movement, and meditation. My brilliant design team partners and I begin the process of transforming a print into wallpaper with rounds and rounds of iteration as we consider the scale and repeat size. We generate renderings to visualize how each pattern will look in a variety of contexts. Finally, for our standard offering colourways we almost always offer the original colourway and then two additional options. Sometimes we simply can’t help ourselves and have to offer a few additional colourways that knock our socks off!
Customization: We absolutely adore collaborating with interior designers to create custom projects. It is exciting to hear their ideas and consider how we can tweak the scale, colourway, and paper or textile ground to achieve a unique product for their application. The part of customization I treasure most is the collaboration we get to have with our broader network of printers and their in-house designers as we brainstorm how a custom design may work best on a new ground.

Photo: Ashby Home series wallpaper.

It is evident through your use of colour and materials that in your work you favour elegant, tranquil interiors. How would you describe your personal style at your home?

I am constantly threading the needle of form and function to create a lovely, comfortable, and useful space full of muddy mountain bikers and artists. We have more windows than walls and the perpetual evolution of seasonal greenery surrounding me is one of the inspirations that drew me to creating wallpaper and textiles that reflect nature.

Whose home – someone you know/don’t know/alive/deceased – would you like to see your textiles and/or wallpapers in and why?

What a fun question - we adore seeing our patterns “in the wild” as we say! The way that Kelly Wearstler brilliantly layers pattern, texture, and colour is breathtaking. I would love to see one of our textiles or wallpapers in a Proper Hotel/Residence or a McGuire Moorman Lambert Hospitality space. MML’s celebration of the community and history surrounding one of their restaurants or hotels through the unique design of each exquisite space is a true inspiration. I have found myself methodically circling images of a Proper Hotel and MML space, taking a mental note and touching every surface of every item - the rugs, wallcoverings, furniture, and light fixtures. Both teams create dynamic, inspiring and yet completely and totally comfortable spaces in which to sit, dine and relax.

Why do you think marble as a material, marbled textures, and marble printmaking has endured as a relevant aesthetic in interior design?

For us, the most magical aspects of marble as a material and marble printmaking are their organic nature and the fact that each slab or original print is completely unique. Each one is like having a beautiful work of art in a space.

How do you choose your professional partners and collaborators and is there a specific reason you’ve chosen to partner with CLOTH HALL?

Prior to Cat Alexander Design Studio I ran a number of businesses with various professional partners and collaborators. When I designed the Cat Alexander Design Studio model, I backwards mapped to identify my skillset and clearly define where I would need to identify collaborators in both the business and artistic side of the enterprise. We have been intentional in identifying partners who provide an explicit and essential service to our business and in every case also align well with our values. Cloth Hall is a woman owned business that supports the sales of our products in Canada and also acts as a true extension of our core team valuing the artistry and craftsmanship behind every Cat Alexander Design pattern.

Upholstered chair in Cat Alexander Calypso fabric.

Photo: Calypso printed on Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified cotton/linen blend.

What project are you most proud of?

Oh! My goodness, I could not choose just one application of our patterns - they are all creative and inspiring to see. One internal project I am incredibly proud of is the recent launch of our HOME line. Our HOME wallpaper is sold by the roll and comes with incredibly straightforward installation directions allowing any do-it-yourselfer to apply the paper, and remove it without damaging the wall. The design team worked incredibly closely with our printer to adjust every single one of our patterns to work spectacularly on the 24” wide roll, lovely ground and, most importantly, be able to hang simply and easily one roll right after the other. I am consistently inspired by and appreciative of the creative minds who come together to initiate, create, and execute new projects like this.

What are you currently working on and what will you be working on next?

This season, I am working on prints that remind me of the intricate root systems I observed this summer on a particular hike in Colorado. I had passed this one little offshoot of a trail hundreds of times, and for some reason this summer I decided to take it. About 50 feet into the hike, I stumbled upon the most beautifully woven exposed roots alongside the trail. There is nothing shocking or seemingly notable about the roots, the trees, or even the hike per se; but this summer it stopped me in my tracks. I am working on prints that abstractly mimic the organic way the roots have woven together so beautifully. I have done three sessions and the perfect print continues to elude me; I will let you know when I get there!