Printmaking with Japanese Gyotaku & Indian Elephant Collographs

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As part of our Art Around the World series, we dove into some really fun printmaking traditions—minus the fish guts! 😂 I love the idea of printing with a real fish à la Japanese Gyotaku, but… let’s be real… the smell alone would have the room cleared out. So we went with a cleaner version that still captured the magic of it. Students (Grades1-5) used fish templates and textures to create their own Gyotaku-inspired prints, and let me tell you—they still get that same joy of lifting the print to see what they made. It’s like magic every time.

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We also tackled collographs of Indian elephants—a beautiful nod to traditional Indian art. This one was a little more layered. Students created three different print plates that they built up with texture—think yarn, foam, chipboard, string—and then they rolled and printed each one. It took a bit of patience, but the results were stunning! That layering gave it so much depth and dimension.

This project is a beautiful mix of culture, process, and play. Students get to explore international traditions while diving into printmaking techniques that are age-appropriate and exciting. Pulling a print always brings that “wow” moment, and by creating collographs, they also get hands-on with texture, layering, and composition. It’s a perfect way to introduce global art in a tangible, memorable way—and skipping the real fish was probably a solid classroom decision. 😄

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