This method of printing allows for excellent educational workshops
at both the elementary school level and the high school level.
It allows me to discuss both sustainability issues as well as
instructing students on print making. I discuss the types of fish
that can be found in local waters whether it be the Hudson River,
the Long Island Sound, or more local rivers and lakes. I discuss
how our wild fish stocks are an important part of our heritage
and how we need to maintain our local waters so that the
fish survive as a food source to both us and other species.

At he elementary school level, I concentrate on the
basic anatomy of the fish, how the shape of fins and tail,
the size of the fish, the position and size of the eyes all impact
on the fish's fate as a predator or food for other fish.

In the middle school and high school level, I discuss how the environmental
health of our local waters impacts on fish survival and in turn on how that
impacts on other species, such as eagles. I discuss how the environmental
movement, especially in the Hudson River Valley, has shown that we can
reverse the damage we have done and species can recover.

The science aspect of these programs is complimented with hands-on fish
printing instruction. This method of printing was developed by the Japanese
fishermen in the mid 1800s to record their catch. The images made by
the students are very powerful and exciting.

In addition, I conduct workshops that focus entirely on the art
of fish printing. In these programs, the focus is on how the fish
print can be used in various artistic disciplines from print making
to textile design. More exotic fish may be used in this workshop.

The photographs below and at right are of workshops I conducted at Convent of the Sacred Heart (Greenwich CT). CET Elementary School (Croton on Hudson) and
Croton Harmon High School (CHHS).

Third graders at the Convent of the Sacred Heart made this (above) 23X14 rice paper print that I framed for them and is hanging in their library.

                           The A.P. Art Class at Croton Harmon High School made many exciting     images on paper and fabric including the
Needlefish above and the t-shirts at right.

The Gyotaku method is
simple and hands on. The 3rd graders at left
are about to make an exciting one of a kind print.
Below is a print from a Bluefish that a 4th grader made.