Creativity
Creative Work
“Every day, one should hear a little song, read a good poem, look at a beautiful painting – and, if possible, say a few wise words.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe · Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship
About me
My journey
It all began in Istanbul. Surrounded by art, cultures and people from everywhere, I spent months visiting exhibitions, trying to understand what spoke to me. My first attempt was calligraphy, but patience was never my strength.
Then came Ebru. During my interview for the course, my teacher, Meryem Beğen, was honest with me:
“Ebru needs patience. Without it, you won’t get far.”
I was just as honest: “I’m not very patient, but I’m very ambitious.”
And ambitious I was. From 2016 to 2018, I spent at least twenty hours a week at the tray, learning from her. Step by step, I perfected the Battal and Akkase techniques – flowers, however, never quite became mine.
A trip to Cape Town in 2018 changed my life. Surrounded by artists, musicians and open-hearted people, I felt free to be myself. In January 2020, I made it my home. Hardly anyone there knew Ebru – so I began to share it, organising workshops where people could marble their own paper. It was the first time I called myself an artist.
“I’m not creative” – I heard this sentence again and again. I used to say it myself when I first came to Istanbul. But Ebru is mostly about technique. What appears on the water always amazes me. Only one thing needs real care – the colours. Some belong together, others simply don’t.
Journals
From paper to journals
In marbling, a new sheet is finished about every forty seconds – and a lot can go wrong. At the end of a day, perhaps five out of thirty sheets are good enough to call art. Many of the others are still beautiful, just not perfect. So I started binding them into books. Japanese stab binding, Coptic stitch, long stitch, case binding – I tried them all and bound my first journals in A4. Even the offcuts found a use as smaller notebooks. Then I marbled linen, cotton and silk, and my first series of journals was complete.
In the end, I had more than a hundred journals – far more than I needed – so I started selling them. Today, I mainly make personalised journals in A5 or smaller, the perfect size to take on a trip. The pages are made of good-quality paper of at least 120 gsm, so you can draw, paint or simply write down your thoughts. We are so used to cheap paper that writing on good paper feels completely different. You just want to keep writing.
Leather
Made to protect
The journals were too beautiful to leave unprotected, so I made leather covers for them. That’s how my work with leather began. Over time, I made personalised journals, wallets, key rings and bags. My favourite project so far is a case for my ukulele. Today, I still work with leather – mostly for things I need myself.
I care about where the leather comes from. That’s why I like to work with second-hand leather or upcycle old bags, jackets and other leather goods into new pieces. If you have a creative idea or would like something personalised, I’d love to hear from you.
On the road
Watercolours
My parents live in a small village in the mountains, 2,500 metres high, surrounded by dry, brown slopes. One evening, a couple arrived there by bike and asked for a place to sleep in the mosque. In the morning, we made them breakfast. As a thank-you, they painted the mountains and wrote a few kind words on the back. That gift means a lot to me.
Today, I do the same. My Ebru tray and leather tools are too big to travel with, so I take my watercolours instead. Along the way, paintings in A5 come to life, and most of them become gifts for the people I meet. After all, who doesn’t love a little painting?
Commissions
My work
My artworks, personalised books and leather pieces are available for purchase or on request. Below is a selection of my work. Enjoy!
Through art, language and travel, we discover history, culture, ideas and identity. We overcome language barriers and create a world where everyone belongs. Travel, art and education help us face the great challenges of our time.
Serap Aktürk