Delightful and detailed prints on paper can be made using real fish. Using direct printing and water-based printing inks, create realistic looking schools of fish or a single artistic print simply by inking a whole fish and pressing it to paper. The result is a gyotaku, a term derived from the Japanese words for fish (gyo) and print (taku). Before cameras, Japanese fishermen used this technique to document a big catch when they were out at sea: They applied sumi ink to a fish, pressed it to newspaper, and then rinsed the fish in the water so it could be eaten.
People will leave the workshop with 4-6 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.
TERMS and CONDITIONS: This is an adult only class. Because materials are prepared for each participant, cancellations with refund minus the cost of the materials ($15) will be applied if cancelled within 7 days of the course. Cancellations not accepted within a week of the course date. Masks are required for this class as courtesy for instructor.
INSTRUCTOR: 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 now for the Natural History Society of Maryland. When she’s not teaching, she’s painting a series of antique microscopes for a show in October 2023 at the National Institutes of Health. Her prints and paintings can be seen at: suefierston.com and on Instagram at: @suefierston_leaves_three_ways.
In June 2020, Swinging Bridge Press published Sue Firestone’s book Into the Woods: Families Making Art With Nature.