Whether techniques have remained the same
for hundreds of years
or evolved as they spread to artisans around the world,
art can reflect a place's unique history,
traditions, and culture.
And in many cases, it's pretty satisfying to watch.
Here are 16 satisfying art techniques
from around the world.
In Turkey, ebru is a traditional art
where colorful paint is sprinkled onto a pan
of an oily mixture made of water and carrageenan.
The paint is manipulated with a metal rod
to create a design.
After that, the design is transferred to paper.
Here, artist Garip Ay used the technique
to recreate van Gogh's "Starry Night."
A traditional Japanese technique,
suminagashi, or floating ink, also uses ink and water
to create marbling on plain paper.
Carpet weaving has been around for thousands of years
in Armenia and throughout the Middle East.
Armenian weavers use a traditional double-knot technique
and dye the wool with organic ingredients
from the country's highlands.
It can take up to year and a half
to complete just one rug.
Over in Iran, a similar process is used
to handweave Persian rugs.
One rug can often take years
and sometimes decades to create.
Though there are many varieties of Persian carpets,
each distinguished by their materials,
patterns, and weaving techniques,
every Persian rug is regarded as a piece of art
that reflects the history and culture of Iran.
In Japan, amezaiku is an art
where delicate sculptures of animals,
birds, and fish are handcrafted out of sugar
to create edible candy art.
It's said to have started during the Heian period
in the 8th century to be used as offerings
at temples in Kyoto.
Today, few professional amezaiku craftspeople
exist in Japan.
Nerikomi is a Japanese form of clay marbling.
Here, artist Risa Nishimori stains porcelain
with nontraditional colors
and layers them together to form patterned blocks.
Then she cuts through the block with a wire
to reveal the final design.
Finally, she shapes the clay
to create a functional ceramic.
While tattoos are generally condemned in Japanese culture,
the traditional method of tebori
has been practiced in Japan for centuries.
A tattoo artist, or horishi, uses a long rod
that plunges into the skin with sharp needles,
rhythmically working the ink in.
It can be a way for clients to connect to the past,
but in modern Japan, they often must hide their tattoos
in public because of the stigma.
The technique has been adopted around the world,
but only a few traditional tebori artists are left in Japan.
In Vietnam, sơn mài is a traditional form
of lacquer painting that is created
using a toxic lacquer exclusively harvested
from one region of the country.
It requires months of application
and sanding back layers of paint to build up the image,
which can turn out completely different
than what the artist had originally intended
because of the unpredictable nature of the process.
In South Asia, carrom is an indoor tabletop game
that has millions of fans,
and the game's layout is an art form.
The game board is crafted by hand
from large slabs of wood
that have been dried for six months
to ensure the board's preservation.
Then the game layout is either screen-printed
or hand-painted with ink and watercolors.
The game is similar to pool,
but instead of a cue stick, there is a striker,
and instead of balls, there are small wooden
or plastic disks.
The goal is to get rid of all the disks.
While the game is said to have originated
in India in the 18th century,
it has international appeal.
In India, rogan art is a centuries-old craft
that has been in Abdul Gaffur Khatri's family
for eight generations.
The family says that they are
the only rogan artists left in the world.
The paint is made of pigments and castor oil,
which is heated for two days
until it becomes a honey-like texture.
The essential tool of the craft is the palm,
which is used to heat up the paint to create a thread.
Then the paint is floated onto the fabric
using a metal rod to create intricate designs.
Gaffur can finish some pieces in five days,
while more complex designs can take him up to two years.
The art is said to have come to India from Persia
400 years ago, and it was once popular
on bedding and ceremonial clothing.
Gaffur promised his family
that he would dedicate his life to his art
and he would try to make it famous throughout the world.
Meanwhile, Indian bidri art is a form of metalworking
that hasn't changed in 600 years.
The eight-step process involves molten metals,
hours of chiseling, and an eye for detail.
The secret ingredient?
A special soil that can only be found
inside a fort in the city of Bidar.
After hours of chiseling, hammering, and crafting,
workers soak the base in a hot mud
they've created from the soil
to give it a signature black color.
The artisans say that the soil from the Bidar Fort
is the only soil in the world
that can turn the vases black.
A chemical used in the fort's construction
gives the soil this special quality.
Leading up to the Hindu festival of Diwali,
artisans across India
produce clay oil lamps called diyas
by the thousands.
The base is made of a mixture of clay and cow dung,
which is prepared in bulk months in advance.
The traditional process requires two artisans
to work together on a potter's wheel
to quickly turn a large chunk of wet clay
into hundreds of small lamps.
Each one is quickly shaped upward by hand,
pinched in to create the bowl,
and then cut off at the base with a wire.
It's a rhythm they sustain
until there's just enough clay left to shape one more.
After that, they're laid out to air-dry
before the artisan fires the diyas
in a large wood-burning kiln.
Many of these lamps end up broken or discolored,
so only a fraction of them are ready to sell in bulk.
Most of the lamps burn for about an hour
if they aren't refilled,
and most get thrown away after just one use.
Today, most people prefer to use LEDs
and battery-powered lights because they're easier
and cleaner to use.
In Southeast Asia, the unmistakable sound of the gong
has held spiritual significance for centuries.
Crafting a gong requires a labor-intensive process
that includes hand-beating metal sheet materials,
hand-painting intricate patterns,
and attaining the perfect tune.
Gongs are typically used for commemoration in Buddhism
and are often displayed in temples to attract tourists.
In China, penjing, or tray scenery,
is the art of dwarfing a regular tree
to create a perfect miniature representation of nature.
In Japan, this is known as bonsai.
The practice of creating these tiny trees
appeared as far back as the 6th century.
The trees are often bent and twisted into shapes,
positioned around rocks,
or even placed with other trees to create a tiny forest.
These techniques require years to master,
and one wrong move can ruin the plant.
Over in Hawaii, instead of picking a design
off the wall of a tattoo shop,
traditional tattoos are based on genealogical
and personal history,
which means that the wearer doesn't get to pick
what the design looks like.
Instead, the tattoo master chooses the design
using their own spirituality
to better understand the wearer's journey.
World-renowned tattoo master Keone Nunes
honors the ancient practice
with the traditional process of hand-tapping.
The ritual has been regarded as a rite of passage
for thousands of years.
Following a similar technique
to Native American horsehair pottery,
Vicente Garcia smokes feathers and hair onto clay
to create vases.
He starts crafting with traditional wheel throwing
and then begins a process called burnishing,
where he polishes each piece with smooth stones
before firing it in a kiln.
The process creates unique and unpredictable designs.
In Sweden, the Dalahäst, or Dala horse,
is a centuries-old handicraft
that has become the national symbol of Sweden.
They're used as toys and religious items
and have even been used as a form of currency.
Today, only two main factories make them by hand,
and they want to keep it that way
to honor the century-old tradition of making the horses
and preserve the meaning behind the symbol.