Pacific University – 12/3/04

Context: Fourth or Fifth Grade Lesson on Japanese Fish Printing (Gyotaku) that integrates Expressive Arts and Social Studies with the option of including Science

Objectives: SWBAT demonstrate their understanding of one part of Japanese culture by participating in and learning how to fish print.

Benchmarks:

Grade 5:

Describe how historical or contemporary events influenced or influence works of art. (the arts)
Describe basic plant and animal structures and their functions. Associate specific structures with their functions in the survival of the organism. (science)
Create, present and/or perform a work of art using experiences, imagination, observation, artistic elements and technical skills to achieve desired effect. (the arts)
Express ideas, moods and feelings through various art forms. (the arts)
Define basic geography vocabulary such as concepts of location, direction, distance, scale, movement, and region using appropriate words and diagrams.

Common Curriculum Goals:

Explain how a work of art reflects the artist’s personal experience in a society or culture.
Understand how the arts serve a variety of personal, professional, practical and cultural needs.

Preparation:

A fish (wash fish in soap and water)

Rice paper

Linoleum block print ink, speedball, or any thick water-soluble ink (or acrylic paint)

A stiff, half inch paint brush, a small brush for painting in the eyes

Modeling clay and straight pins (for shaping fins and tail)

Newspaper and paper towels

Cotton balls

Introduction: (5-10 minutes)

Kim Rose will begin our lesson by discussing how nature and the environment plays an important role in Japanese culture. Kim will be speaking from the perspective of having lived in Japan. After Kim is done, Shannon and Leslie will present their lesson, Brenda and I will present ours, and then we will break out and work through the activities as two centers.

Gyotaku is Japanese for fish rubbing (gyo means fish, taku means print, rubbing, or impression). Fish printing is a Japanese art form from the 1800s. In Japan, gyotaku was started by fishermen to preserve records of their biggest catches. Scientists have begun using fish printing because of its accuracy and detail. A good fish rubbing is probably the most accurate image, in every detail, of a fish’s external features.

There are two basic methods of fish rubbing in use today, the indirect method and the direct method. The indirect method is performed by wetting paper, molding it to the fish, allowing the paper to dry, and then painting the paper with a special brush to bring out the fish impression (sort of like rubbing a pencil on paper over a coin). Indirect rubbings tend to be the most subtle and accurate rubbings. This method works extremely well for the purposes of scientific illustration. Painting directly on the fish, laying paper on it, and then rubbing your fingers over it to create an impression, performs the direct method. The direct method tends to produce much bolder prints. Many artists feel the direct method results in more aesthetically pleasing rubbings than those produced by the indirect method.

Today, we will be fish printing. It is a fun and good way to gain appreciation of the beauty and great variety of marine organisms. Gyotaku artists try to achieve realistic, lifelike prints to represent the animals they are printing. This technique can be used for making prints of shells, rocks, flowers, and other objects in nature.

Learning Activities: (40 minutes, really depends on the number of students)

Clean the outside of the fish by squeezing the lemon juice on its body (or wash with soap and water) and then gently wiping to remove the slime. Be careful not to dislodge scales.
Shape pieces of modeling clay and place them under the fins for support. Arrange the fins so they are spread out and look natural. You may also use the straight pins to keep the fins in place.
If the fish has been gutted, stuff its insides with paper towels so that the belly is firm. If it is still in tact, plug the anus with a small piece of paper towel or cotton so that it won’t “leak”.
Remove the fish’s eye or cover it with a small piece of cotton.
Let the fish dry completely. You may use a hair dryer to hasten the drying. To check for dryness, remove some of the pins from the fins. If the fins stay in place, you are ready to ink. If they move, let the fish dry longer.
Cover the entire table with newspaper. Place a stack of half sheets of newspaper under the fish. After each child paints the fish, you can slide the top sheet out so that the underlying sheet is clean when the print is made.
Brush a thin coat of ink or paint on the fish, using a ½ to 1-inch brush. The paint should be thick, not runny. First, brush on the paint from head to tail. After the whole fish is covered, reverse the direction of your strokes, going from tail to head. This will put ink under the edges of the scales and spines and will improve the print.
Use a small brush to coat the fish’s lips and the tips of the fins and tail. Leave the eye blank and paint it in later.
Once the fish is completely inked or painted, carefully remove the clay. The pins can stay in if they are placed so that they will not show on the print. You may put a stack of clean pieces of paper under the fins to support them.
Now slide the top sheet of newspaper out so that the surface beneath the fish is clean.
Gently place a piece of paper on the fish. Lower the paper carefully, beginning at either the head or the tail. Do not move it once it has touched the fish, or you’ll have smudges.
The teacher or adult helper should hold the head of the fish so the paper will not slip around as the child rubs the fish. The child should rub the fish gently; try to touch all parts of the fish so there won’t be any blank or faint spots on the print. Remember to rub all the fins, too. Do not move the paper around; this will cause smudges. Take your time. The paper will wrinkle a little bit, but that is all right. Try not to press the same spot twice or you’ll get a double image and smudges.
After you have pressed the entire fish, carefully peel off the paper.
Look closely at the print. If you see a smudge, that means you probably let the paper slip. If there is a blank spot, you probably forgot to press that part of the fish.
Paint in the eye using a small brush. You should probably practice making the eye on some scrap paper first.
If you want to make prints of different colors, begin with the lightest color first. You may gently clean the fish with lemon juice between printings.

Closure: (5-10 minutes)

After everyone has had a chance to do a fish print, we will gather as class on the floor for a discussion. So what did you think? Did you enjoy the fish printing? What did you like and what did you dislike? Can you see how this would be both valuable scientifically as well as artistically?

Extension: This lesson could also involve learning the parts of the fish, both internal and external. In this way, science could easily be integrated into the lesson.

Student Evaluation: This appears to primarily be an expressive arts lesson, therefore students will be evaluated on their participation. Since this also integrates social studies, the discussion during the closure will give a good indication of how much the students got out of the lesson and whether they were able to view the activity as more than just an art project, but as a piece of Japanese culture.

Teacher Evaluation: It may be difficult for some students to complete the fish printing without considerable help. For this reason, it will be important to have at least one adult supervising every two students.

Resources:

http://www.northcoast.com/~fishhelp/edu_f/print.html

http://www.saber.net/~markfenn/gyotaku.htm

http://www.bluewaterfishrubbings.com/history.php