Gyotaku - Fish Prints

Gyotaku is the art of fish printing, originally done to record the size of their catch. You don't have all the way to Japan to get print of a fish; now you can get a print of a native Vermont fish on a shirt for all to see at Emile A. Gruppe Gallery at Jericho Settlers Farm,



The shirts are made by Brian Swisher and Gretchen Alexander with fish caught in Vermont. Most of the prints are made with Bluegill, Pumpkinseed,Perch, or Crappie. The fish are washed, eyes plucked out, and fins pinned out. The fish are then coated with a thin layer of heat set fabric paint.



The shirt is laid on the fish and rubbed to transfer the paint. The fish is re-inked between printings. Then the "chop" (traditional Japanese signature) is stamped that reads "water", "art", and "life". Then the paint is set with an iron.



Information: Pamphlet on table