Turkish migrant Merve Alpay is taking baby steps toward her dream to turn her talent as an artists into a successful career.
Ms Alpay specialises in the traditional Turkish art of Ebru, which involves creating colourful patterns by sprinkling and brushing colour pigments onto a pan of oily water and then transferring the patterns to paper.
Described as “painting on water,” Ebru has been practiced in Turkey since the 13th century and sees marbled paper used as a background for calligraphy, religious texts, and to decorate special books.
“For me art makes me feel good. It helps me connect with people and bring something
beautiful to people’s lives.”
To achieve her dreams, she has enrolled in an English course with migrant and refugee settlement agency AMES Australia in Dandenong to help her.
“I’m improving my English skills so I can continue and eventually open a small studio to sell my art.
“The course is helping me with English, to speak more clearly and it is building my confidence to be able talk to people about my art,” she said.
Ms Alpay arrived in Australia in 2021 with almost no English and apart from stepping her foot in the world of art business she has volunteered as an art teacher with community groups.
The former school art teacher also creates water colour and oil paintings as well as ceramic art.
“I had a 12-year-old student in Turkey with a disability who was very talented nit also very shy.
“We made some art together, many pictures, and we held an exhibition. People came and they loved the art and applauded my student.
“She loved that, she appreciated the people liked her art and she felt better about herself and gained more confidence.”
“This had big impact on her life and that’s why I love art, it can change people’s lives,”
Ebru is the traditionally used to depict flowers, foliage, ornamentation, latticework, mosques and moons, and are used for decoration in the traditional art of bookbinding.
Artists used traditional methods to extract colours from natural pigments, which are then mixed with a few drops of ox-gall, a type of natural acid, before sprinkling and brushing the
colours onto a preparation of condensed liquid, where they float and form swirling patterns.
Ebru art is considered to be an integral part of their traditional culture, identity and lifestyle.
The knowledge and skills, as well as the philosophy behind this art, are transmitted orally and through informal practical training within master-apprentice relationships.
Achieving even basic skills in Ebru takes at least two years and the tradition is practised by all ages, genders and ethnicities. It plays a significant role in the empowerment of women and the improvement of community relationships in Turkey.
The collective art of Ebru is famous for encouraging dialogue through friendly conversation, reinforcing social ties and strengthening relations between individuals and communities.
