September 17, 2013 — It takes a certain kind of person to find artistic inspiration in a dead fish. But in a recent workshop on Japanese fish printing at Oak Island Recreation Center, more than 35 people did just that.
Fish printing, or Gyotaku as it’s called in Japanese, is a technique that started in the 1800s as a way for fishermen to record the size of their catches, said Patt Carney, one of the instructors of the workshop, which was sponsored by the Oak Island Art Guild.
“It’s how they validated their conquests on the seas,” said Carney, a retired principal of Southport Elementary School.
These days, fish prints are made on rice paper and framed as works of art. Or placed on T-shirts, fabric for quilts or napkins – any surface that can hold up to ink or acrylic paint, which is spread on the fish to make the imprint.
Carney had a newspapered table stacked with dead sheepshead, menhaden, bluefish, pinfish and spadefish for participants to use. She also had a few rubber flounders for the squeamish.
The classroom buzzed with energy as students chose their fishes and began applying a thin coat of paint. Too much paint and you can’t pick up the details of the fish’s scales, gills and mouth, Carney said.
Read the full story at the Wilmington Star News