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Lisa
Stirrett is among the few artists in the United States who actually uses real fish
and other sea life to create her paintings. This ancient technique, called
“Gyotaku”, is the Japanese artform of fish (gyo) rubbing (taku).
She started with this technique in 1988, while working in the garment and
textile industry. In 1992, after years of selling her own line of fish imprinted
garments around the U.S., she opened the Pacific Seas Art Studio.
There, Lisa taught the art of Gyotaku printing for many years. |
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of Lisa’s work has a nautical theme because she was once an avid diver
and has tried to take the splendor of the deep and its unrestrained beauty
to her paintings. Each piece is unique and original. Her love of the traditional
Gyotaku print coupled with her wonderment and respect of nature creates a
true style of her own. Currently, the “CALL TO THE RIVER” Series
of paintings focuses on the life cycle and span of our native sockeye salmon.
Backdrops are first created to depict the salmon dance to the river and an
actual spawned salmon is used to create the fish imprint. These pieces are
graceful and elegant.
Lisa’s work has been evolving for many years. Not only is she a Gyotaku artist, but she paints in Encaustic (molten wax), and also creates sculptures out of metal and glass. Public and Commercial art is her favorite venue in which to express herself. This allows Lisa to develop a vision for a particular space and then to make it happen. Along the way she has learned to create in many mediums and has had the opportunity to work with great artists. Lisa has imprinted literally hundreds of fish of all sizes and species over time. Her work hangs in local galleries, corporate collections, private collections, hotels, Washington State Ferries and has been featured on the Kasilof Smoked Salmon boxes for Costco since 1998. In May of 2000 she was commissioned to provide artwork for the new Bremerton Transportation Center and Washington State Ferry Terminal and in 2004 was commissioned to provide a 13-foot glass sculpture for the Bremerton Conference Center. Lisa holds a B.A. from the University of Washington. She is a member of the Nature Printing Society, The Women Painters of Washington and has just recently developed and launched her new line of art tiles, along with a trivet and coaster line. |
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