The process of paper marbling, featured previously on Neatorama, is captured here in this footage shot by Turkish filmmaker Oguz Uygur. Uygur's parents practice the art, also called erbu, in which paint or ink floats in water as the artist creates patterns in the ink by hand.
After the design is formed, a piece of washi paper is laid on the surface, which transfers the pattern. The decorative paper is used in book covers, endpapers and stationery. Paper marbling originated in Asia and the Middle East.
I'm surprised that I found the process of making the paper almost more beautiful than the paper itself. Watching the artist manipulate the inks to make the pattern is mesmerizing. Via Beautiful Decay.