Leaping Salmon

Here's an article I wrote for the NPS newsletter, Volume XL, Number 2, Spring 2017. Click on the page to enlarge.

During my residency I was able to provide a number of participatory Direct  Gyotaku  workshops   and events for people of all ages. The first was held at Northern Print, a fantastic printmaking studio and gallery based in the  Ouseburn Valley, only a few minutes away from Newcastle's city centre.  www.northernprint.org.uk Northern Print is the lead organisation behind the International Print Biennale which began in 2009 and is now the largest printmaking festival in the UK. Some direct gyotaku salmon prints drying at Northern Print. Originally, the plan was to give a talk about gyotaku and a demonstration of the direct gyotaku technique called  chokusetsu-ho in Japanese. However, having attended similar printmaking talks and demonstrations I've always felt rather disappointed when there wasn't the opportunity to 'have a go' oneself. I believe that a practical experience helps a person to fully understand  the process and/or foster an interest in it. So