Most of us who think “Japanese uncooked fish” probably think “sushi.” But Tom Ravenscroft thinks “Gyotaku,” the Japanese art of fish printing, and he teaches it. A whole, raw fish is brushed on one side with ink, and rice paper is rolled over the inked scales to make a lasting impression that outlives the fish.

Ravenscroft, a West Seattle resident, will teach gyotaku, pronounce “gee’-yo-tah’-koo,” Japanese for “fish rubbing,” at South Seattle Community College’s Continuing Education Department. Two separate classes will start Tuesday, Feb. 9, and Saturday, Feb. 13.

Gyotaku began as a practical tool in Japan in the mid 1800’s, then evolved into an art form, said Ravenscroft, who both teaches classes, and sells his framed works.

“Japanese fishermen would take rice paper down to the sea, catch a fish, put some ink on it, then do a rubbing, like a fingerprint of the fish. If they cut up the fish later they could remark to their friends, ‘I really did catch a fish this big!’ It was the Japanese version of the American fisherman’s tale. It is still practiced in Japan today.

“It probably became an art form in Japan during the turn of the last century, then someone brought it to show on the West Coast of the U.S. in the 1940’s and ‘50’s.”

He swears the rice paper doesn’t smell “fishy” once removed from the salmon, trout, or the more exotic rockfish with its wildly textured fins, scales and gills, features he said that lend themselves well to the art form.

“I did a monk fish Gyotaku for a beer label, ‘Fishtail Ale’” he said, “at the Fish Tale Brew Pub in Olympia. I bought the fish down at the (Pike Place) Market. It’s that really ugly, scary looking fish with the big mouth and teeth.”

Ravenscroft explained that while a young child can enjoy creating a Gyotaku piece, there are “masters” who dedicate their lives to the art. "Tell-tail signs" of an expert’s rubbing include getting the inked fish scales even and well-defined like a photograph on the rice paper without it slipping, and skillfully enhancing the rubbing by painting on eyes, teeth, and other fine features.

He considers Bellingham artist, Lori Hatch, America’s Gyotaku master, and has a large photograph of her work on his wall. She introduces leaves and other natural forms to her prints.

Some area residents may recall Ravenscroft’s two former pottery schools, the Pottery School of West Seattle, across from the California Avenue post office, where he taught from 1998 to 2003, and the Pottery School in Pioneer Square he started in 1994 and sold in 2000. That school is still operating.

“I don’t know why I was drawn to fish,” Ravenscroft said, whose Japanese Raku pottery, and a Raku fish, formed from an award-winning trout his brother Rick caught, adorn his living room and kitchen.

“Everybody has an artistic side,” he said. “We just need to find out what it is that fits for us, how to express the inherent creativity we are born with.”

For information on classes go to: www.learnatsouth.org or phone (206) 764-5339.