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Lesson Plans


Re: Gyotaku

From: Mark Alexander (malexander06)
Date: Wed Mar 01 2000 - 19:56:57 PST

  • Next message: Mark Alexander: "Re: Hey Woody, What's that you said?"

    I much prefer real fish. After living in Gloucester, Mass (Gortons of
    Gloucester ring a bell?) for 18 years I have a lot of fish connections. But
    I'm inland now, and still prefer real fish. This year I've done two gyotaku
    projects, both times I gave a homework assignment to middleschool kids to go
    fishing over the weekend. Parents called me at home just to be sure they
    heard their kids right. Anyway, the next class we and had lovely bluegill
    rock bass, persch, trout, and even a pike to print.

    One gyotaku project in 1st and 2nd grades was printed with wet tempera on
    newsprint. (We used some of the fish the older kids caught) Next class we
    did wet on wet watercolor underwater scenes, sprinkling the wet watercolor
    with salt for texture and cut out the fish and glued them on. REALLY cool
    project with near 100% success and more that 100% pride.

    The next project was with middle school aged kids. We printed tee shirts the
    kids brought in (washed and dried first to remove sizing). We printed with
    acrylic paints mixed with a bit of fabric medium which I got from Dick Black
    (Sax probably has it too).

    Each gyotaku day and each print is different when real fish are used.
    Somehow I can't bring myself succumb to the temptation of making things
    easier by using rubber fish. I like the charm and excitement of making real
    art out of something nature provides us. I tend to avoid things that pretend
    to be things they aren't. I don't mean to offend anyone, but the difference
    between using real fish and using rubber fish strikes me as similar to the
    difference between wood siding and vinyl siding.

    So wait till spring and go fishing.

    Mark Alexander
    K-12 Art
    Region One in northwestern Connecticut
    malexander06

    -----Original Message-----
    From: Gyotaku day PurpleArt <PurpleArt>
    To: ArtsEdNet Talk <artsednet>
    Date: Wednesday, March 01, 2000 9:19 PM
    Subject: Gyotaku

    >Hi everyone -- have any of you every purchased those great rubber realistic
    >looking fish used for printmaking -- Gyotaku style? I have borrowed a
    couple
    >from someone I know who can't remember where she got them and I am
    desperate
    >to buy several! Thanks for you help! --Lisa in SD
    >
    >---
    > 

    ---

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