Gyotaku Hawaiian Style with Sue Fierston

Go from black and white to Technicolor with Hawaiian-style gyotaku. In the traditional Japanese gyotaku process, fish are printed on paper immediately after being caught, using black ink, or sumi, then washed in the sea and eaten. The result is a gyotaku, a term derived from the Japanese words for fish (gyo) and print (taku).

In this workshop, the process involves printing with colorful inks and thin acrylics, and adding color and texture with watercolor crayons and acrylic media. Learn to use all these techniques to print your fish and develop your own gyotaku style.

This is a great opportunity for folks who have already taken the basic gyotaku class to increase their skills. If you are new to this art form, Sue will review basic gyotaku techniques, so it will be easy to catch up. Sue will be bringing squid, octopus, and, possibly, shrimp for those who are ready to try printing other sea life.

People will leave the workshop with four to six fish prints on a variety of paper sizes. Participants should wear old clothes or bring an apron and an old bath towel.  The room will smell of fish by the end of the class if you are sensitive to odors.

TERMS and CONDITIONS: This is an adult-only class. Because materials are prepared for each participant, cancellations with a refund minus the cost of the materials ($20) will be applied if cancelled within seven days of the course. Cancellations are not accepted within a week of the course date.

INSTRUCTOR: Sue Fierston is a printmaker and current president of the international Nature Printing Society,  a worldwide group of artists who are dedicated to nature printing in all forms. NPS members print real fish and leaves as well as tree bark and spiderwebs.  Sue holds nature printmaking workshops in the spring and fall at the Smithsonian Associates and with us. Her prints and paintings can be seen at: suefierston.com and on Instagram at: @suefierston_leaves_three_ways.

Sue published her book, Into the Woods: Families Making Art With Nature, in June 2020 with Swinging Bridge Press.