NUMENON |
PONDERING CORE ESSENCE
NUMENON |
My daughter K surprised me at Christmas with the proper ink and paper supplies for me to attempt the art of Japanese Fish Rubbing, gyotaku. This was a loving and thoughtful gift. We'd long discussed this as a possible artistic outlet for me. I just never knew where to get the right stuff! In return to her kind generosity, it only took me a little over four months to finally catch a legally harvestable fish here in Michigan! When a lone white bass, Morone chrysops, recently ate my jerk-bait intended for Lake St. Clair's legendary smallmouth, I knew this fish had volunteered for this duty. Despite arriving home from the long day hot and tired, I prepared my prize, reviewed a couple of YouTube videos and collected some additional supplies for the next day's Fish Rubbing session. I have to admit, removing the paper from my very first print was a somewhat spiritual experience. I was seeking to capture the essence of the fish, not every nuance or detail; and I'd succeeded! However, I'd also used the incorrect side of the paper, and the image was a bit smudged. Plus, I'd not been aggressive enough at capturing the dorsal and ventral fins; these were disembodied from the rest of the fish. Still, I was encouraged by these results. Print No. 2 was better; but I'd used too much ink, and the print lost some important detail and texture. It simply would never look like a White Bass. Print No. 3 is presented below, hot off the press. It's by no means perfect; but the elements of the fish are in place. Spiny fins are obviously so; soft fins, too. The jaw bones are naturally delineated, as is the operculum and the nasal nare. I smudged the tail and the fish is overall, a bit too dark. But I can see that this will certainly be a recognizable White Bass specimen with only minor additional detail. I believe my goal will be to minimize additional detail; I don't want to "paint" the fish. I want to capture the fish through the utilization of proper preparations, materials and techniques. The fact that one cannot see the result as the print develops (as in a drawing or painting) means that I will have to develop trust in these factors, as well as in myself. This only adds to my intrigue and satisfaction with this endeavor. Given a very windy Flex Day and full of pleasant smallmouth memories from recent trips, I chose to finish my initial gyotaku efforts today. A Lake St. Clair walleye had been added to my collection of rubbings; now, it was time to attempt the eyeballs and to provide any additional detail that I thought necessary. I was somewhat intimidated by the eyes; these are what will provide any perceived eternal life to the prints. Well, the eyes turned out okay, and I was comfortable with adding only very sparse additions to my rubbings. I decided to commemorate these initial efforts by matting and framing a few of the prints. I'll continue to enjoy these fish for a long time. I enjoyed doing this, too, so now I have yet another way to enjoy fishing! Thanks, K! Continuous improvement is a personal goal of mine; at least on my terms and at my pace. I have a reminder posted at work; "Kaizen" as a visible source of motivation to seek ways to make things better. Whether these improvements are realized as a result of new efficiencies, intelligent use of tools, prioritization, atmosphere or attitude, and whether the gains are modest or substantial, I seek such realizations to provide daily purpose and meaning for my work life. I've certainly applied these thoughts to my fishing. And now, possibly, to my practice of gyotaku. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
1 Comment
Kate L.
6/7/2018 03:22:46 pm
Love, love, love these! Can't wait to see you expand to other (larger!) species!
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Steve LachanceVia Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Michigan and now, back to New England! Archives
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