~y o u n g mariners 



Fish Prints — Art in the Ocean 



Boost your child's art confidence 

 by making fish prints. 



It's easy. It's fun. It's educational. 

 And all you need are a few supplies. 



You simply coat an object, in this 

 case a fish, with a light coat of ink. 

 Then you press a 

 clean piece of 

 paper against it. An 

 impression of the 

 fish, often a very 

 beautiful one, is left 

 on the paper when 

 it is lifted. 



The art of fish 

 printing has its 

 roots in Japan, 

 where sport- 

 fishermen began 

 using the practice 

 more than a 

 century ago as 

 proof of the size of their catch. 

 Gyotaku, from the Japanese words 

 gyo, or fish, plus taku, for rubbing, is 

 the traditional term used for this form 

 of nature printing. 



But today children of all ages can 

 use the art form to learn more about 

 fish and their environment, says 

 Lundie Spence, Sea Grant's marine 

 education specialist. 



Spence says she has made fish 

 prints with children as young as 4 

 years old. For them, making fish prints 

 is an enjoyable craft. 



For older children and adults, 

 producing fish prints "changes from a 

 craft to an art in which skill is needed 

 to record each scale and nuance of the 

 fish," Spence says. 



And no matter what the age, fish 

 printing can be a learning experience. 



"Kids can actually observe 

 differences in fish more closely," 

 Spence says. "Often children think a 

 fish is a fish. But by making fish 



prints, they learn that the flounder has 

 two eyes on the same side of the head, 

 the black sea bass has long fins, the 

 shad has large scales and the pompano 

 has only a few scales." 



By determining the differences 



among fish, the youngsters can start to 

 see how fish live in and adapt to their 

 habitat, Spence says. 



"For instance, by looking at the 

 shape of the fish's body and fms, 

 children can determine which species 

 are fast swimmers and which are not," 

 Spence says. 



But don't think for a moment that 

 fish prints are just child's play. If 

 made with skill and precision, fish 

 prints can become an art form too. 



Materials: You need blank 

 newsprint paper, water soluble 

 printer's ink or tempera colors, old 

 newspaper to cover desks, small jars to 

 hold the ink or paint, large and small 

 brushes, paper towels and a fresh or 

 frozen whole fish that has not been 

 gutted or scaled. 



Procedure: For printing, it's best 

 to chose a flat fish such as a flounder, 

 spot, pinfish or triggerfish. But any 

 fish will do, fresh or frozen. Frozen 

 fish do particularly well, Spence says, 



because the fish dehydrate in the 

 freezer, causing the scales to pull away 

 from the fish and become more 

 prominent. The fish should be whole, 

 neither gutted nor scaled. 



First, wash the fish with soap and 

 water to remove 

 body slime. Dry 

 thoroughly with a 

 paper towel. 



Lay the fish on an 

 old newspaper and 

 extend its fins. To 

 extend the fins, you 

 may need to prop 

 them against a ball of 

 clay and insert pins. 



Brush a thin coat 

 of ink or paint on top 

 of the fish, avoiding 

 the eye if possible. 

 To add flair and 

 distinction to your fish print, use 

 several different colors of ink. Tradi- 

 tional gyotakus were made with just 

 black ink, but different colors add 

 more dimension to the print. 



Be careful not to apply too much 

 ink or paint because the image will not 

 be clear. It's better to have too little ink 

 than too much, Spence says. 



If the paint smears onto the news- 

 paper, slide a clean piece of paper 

 under the fish before printing. 



Gently drop a sheet of blank 

 newsprint over the fish. Press evenly 

 and lightly over the entire body. Work 

 quickly because otherwise the paper 

 will absorb too much ink and the 

 image will not be crisp. Peel off the 

 paper without blurring the print. Add 

 the eye dot later. 



You can freeze your fish for future 

 prints, or if you use water soluble inks, 

 you can clean and cook the fish. 

 Happy fish printing. 



Kathy Hart 



20 MARCH/APRIL 1993 



