I had the pleasure of photographing a talented friend last month at the Country Montessori Preschool & Kindergarten. Darcy Schwartz runs the Art Reach program and travels to many local schools each week to bring amazing art instruction and exposure to students. Here she is teaching these preschool children about the traditional form of Japanese fish painting called Gyotaku. Needless to say she was teaching me as well, as I’d never heard of this before!
“Gyotaku is a traditional form of Japanese art that began over 100 years ago as a way for fishermen to keep a record of the fish they caught. They would apply squid ink to one side of a freshly caught fish, then cover the fish with paper and rub to create an exact image of the fish. Squid ink was non-toxic and allowed for the fish to be processed for eating, while preserving records of fish species and sizes.
These utilitarian prints were incredibly life like. When done properly they retained even subtle patterns and textures of the fish. The relatively simple black ink prints later developed into an art form that added rich colors and environmental details. For educators, Gyotaku (pronounced Gee-oh-ta-koo) can also serve as a great way to teach children and adults about basic fish anatomy, and a valuable (and fun!) way for children to experience a new and different art medium, one which includes an element of science.”- Art Reach
Be sure to check out Darcy’s Art Reach Facebook page, she offers wonderful summer art camps and will be posting information about them!
Now come see our afternoon…
I was very surprised to learn we would be working with real fish! And I think the children were surprised, as well, as you may be able to tell by some of their expressions. It was something completely out of the ordinary, for me at least, but the children were all eyes… and questions. Once they got over the initial smell (of course it was stinky, it’s a dead fish!), the children were very curious and had all sorts of questions and commentary.
You can tell by the children’s expressions that they were really thinking. I love that even though this was completely out of the ordinary, nobody was afraid and they all wanted and had a turn. That’s what’s so marvelous about children, they love to explore and learn.
Look at their little faces studying it.
Most wanted to touch the eyeball… which cracked me up cause there’s no way I wanted to feel it!
I love that they all turned out so unique… just like the little artists.
Thank you, Darcy, Miss Lucy & Miss Jane for allowing me in to photograph this awesome class and for teaching me something new! It was wonderful to be part of your class… I really am missing my Montessori days with you.