I have had a hectic couple of days. I spent Wednesday on an 'Elemental Drawing' day in Shropshire, literally drawing with the elements - using stones from the ground, flowers from the garden and smoke from candles to create amazing marks. No photos I'm afraid because I was so 'into' what I was doing I forgot to take any! Not so, yesterday though when a friend and I went up to St Davids for a short workshop on Gyotaku printing run by American artist (now Pembrokeshire based) Deborah Withey.
Gyo taku originated in Japan where fisherman used to print their catch as proof of what they had caught. It is an ancient tradition but our fish came from Morrisons so were just printing for fun. Debbie has made some amazing prints from all different kinds of fish but she demonstrated the technique with plaice and sole. We started with a fresh fish which we had to pat until we had made it quite dry. This takes quite a bit of time and the first few prints do not work that well. It's only when the ink builds up and the fish dries out that the detail of the print comes through.
Using a roller and some water based printing ink the fish is rolled up in the same way as a lino cut - except , of course, it is not flat so you have to try and roll around corners. The eyes are a bit off putting and you have to stuff the gills to pad them out as well but you have to get over that part! A brush is used to paint the fins and eliminate the marks from the roller. Many on the course also added dots and blobs of acrylic colour onto their fish but I'm a bit of a plain and simple type. I like one colour and I like to see the texture and pattern in things so here is one of my 'unvarnished' prints. The detail is not bad . The fish had been printed about 5 or 6 times before it became as clear as this.
This print is on rice paper but we also used wallpaper lining paper. There is no printing press involved and the paper is placed over the fish and you just start rubbing away. It feels quite odd moulding the paper around the fish but I will definitely do it again. As ever, you start to think of fish in a whole new light. Morrisons fish counter better look out!
11 comments:
That's certainly different and very effective Lesley. Did you wash it all off and fry it for supper afterwards?!
Jane x
How fascinating! But you have left me thirsty for knowledge of the drawing class..... particularly drawing with the smoke of a candle....... (smoke does rather interest me..... mwah! ha! ha! ha! ............)
:O)
What a fascinating process (although I think I would be a bit squeamish about trying it) I love the results though.
Stunning, what a great result - I've got some battered cod fillets in the freezer!
(Sorry about that)
The Japanese have a wonderful way making every-day activities into works of art.
Golly, what a great result. Not being a very keen fish eater, this looks like a much more interesting use for my part of the fish husband always buys when it's his turn for the supermarket!
Hi Lesley....I have to say the end result is actually very beautiful.....I love the simplicity of the finished piece of work.
Now I am going to bore you. As a vegetarian I struggle with this sort of thing. It seems such a waste of food............I think I may leave it at that.
Tku for sharing, I do enjoy reading your posts....this one is thought provoking.
Have a lovely weekend
Well Lesley you know I'd have had it in the frying pan before anyone got near it with the ink!
There's a bloke who sells these on Etsy
http://www.etsy.com/listing/41434550/pisces-original-gyotaku-fish-rubbingon
Wow!! XX
What a novel use for a fish! I love the end result, it's really quite detailed! I think I'd have to put cling film on it first so that it didn't get wasted.
Dan
-x-
Fascinating and a beautiful print Lesley, funnily enough my partner got all these different Japanese papers out yesterday he had collected, some over a thousand years old, indigo dyed with gold writing a couple... just said he's even got the stuff to do the fish thing, think I'll wait till the weather's cooler though. We've had no rain in Essex for weeks...
Hi
I have just found your blog and this wonderful post, I keep intending to have a go at this but as of yet haven't quite got around to it, you know what it's like... another thing on the list of things to do.
It looks as if you had great fun, there is one thing that you mention and that is you say before being varnished? Do you have to varnish them?
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