In this workshop participants are invited to create their own print from a fish, and personalise it with their handmade potato stamp. Gyo means “fish” and taku means “impression”. Gyotaku is a traditional Japanese method of fish printing, where ink is applied to a fish and then pressed onto rice paper to create an image of the catch. Originating in the early 19th century, fishermen used gyotaku to document their catches, similar to today’s “snapshot”. What began as a practical record-keeping method has since evolved into a respected art form.
Workshop facilitators are artists Kathy Clark and Anne Rombach. Kathy Clark is an American/ Icelandic visual multi-media artist living and working in Iceland. Her father is American and her mother is from Japan. They met in the Korean War in Iwakuni Japan where her father was stationed in the Navy Airforce. Kathy grew up in Chicago and learned Japanese culture from her mother and especially enjoys cooking and eating Japanese cuisine, as well as trips to Japan to visit family. As a child, among many other things, both her parents taught her the Japanese Sumi ink brush painting technique on rice paper which inspired this workshop of Gyotaku- fish printing. Kathy holds a Bachelor’s Degree in art from San Diego University and a Master’s Degree in fine art from The San Francisco Art Institute in California.
Anne Rombach is a German artist living and working in Iceland. She studied photography at the Academy of Fine Arts in Leipzig and graduated with an MA degree in Fine Art from the Iceland University of the Arts where she is currently studying “Arts and Wellbeing”.
This workshop is open to individuals of all ages and skill levels, but children are expected to be accompanied by an adult. Guests are welcome to drop by at any time during the workshop. The spoken languages of the workshop are English, Icelandic and German. Free event – everybody is welcome.
This workshop is part of an event series, Together, organized by the Culture Houses of Kópavogur in collaboration with GETA nonprofit organization, with the goal of enhancing inclusiveness and promoting intercultural understanding.
