Multi-Media Artist

 
I Was Game But The Fish Wasn't

A few years ago, I saw on TV a Hawaiian artist who practiced the Japanese tradition of Gyotaku - wherein that day's catch was immortalized by applying paint to a fish and then printing with it on paper.  It was beautiful. The wind was blowing in the artist's hair as he flung his fishing hook over the ocean and caught rainbow colored fish.  Then, after carefully selecting the most interesting fish of the lot, he dabbed paint on the skin and then pressed it against some handmade paper to make gorgeous prints.  These prints he then made into a beautiful shoji screen.  I was smitten  and I wanted to try it too!  So with this in mind, early on a Saturday morning I hauled my mother and little sister to a craft college which was about 2 hours away.  I promised them that this was going to be great.  I could smell the salt breeze and picture the glistening fish scales even as I barreled down the 5 Freeway trying to make it to class on time after a late start.  We ran into the classroom and threw ourselves into the last 3 seats just in time to see the teacher walk in with a foam cooler.  Yey!  We made it - hoo - what the heck- agh! - what is that SMELL?!  We looked up from our double-overed positions to see the teacher pulling out of the cooler plastic baggies full of some kind of foul-colored gelatinous masses.  Then she explained the whole process and how we would take the fish out of the bags and spread them out on paper towels so that we could apply the paint and make the prints.  It really was an interesting technique and the prints we made were lovely - once we got over the revulsion.  See what the class catalog didn't say was how these fish were actually reused from class to class, week to week, boy scout troop to adult continuing ed.  Imagine what a fish or octopus looks like after having been spread out on a paper towel, had paint applied to it, been smushed onto a sheet of paper and then been dunked in a bucket full of fishy water to be cleaned off - 40 or 80 times.  Yeah.  But I was in my crafting fervor and once my mother and little sister gave up - after like the first 20 minutes of a 2 hour class - I took over and finished their prints.  Nothing was going to stop my mastering this technique.  Hell no.  This was art at its most primeval and nothing but nothing was going to stop me from taking that hill. Not no way, not no how. Least of all a stinky little fish with one eye hanging out and something coming out of its mouth. Bring it on, fish boy.

Oh, and the prints really did turn out pretty.  Just don't stand too close or inhale too deeply.

Comments

[Mary Ann]

Very interesting. Gross and intriguing at the same time.

[Dena]

Carmen, you are so funny! Your blog is something i can WAY aspire to. Hope you are smelling sweet again :)

[jessie]

lol.. you are a brave girl!