Fish Printing is for all ages

Hello Ladies and Gents

The fisherman is back in action this summer with plenty of fish prints while working on the fish pier from June 19-21, I had the chance to share the joys of fish printing with many visitors from all over the age spectrum! It was a great experience to work with the new and familiar staff from Save the Harbor/ Save The Bay.

Starting at around 11:30 AM, I would see these awesome smiling faces:

The Little man in the blue shirt was so excited to see how well the colors spread on the fish's scales.

He was so focused!

This little guy in the red shirt was so focused on making sure his fish came out nice and smiling on the inside, that he forgot to smile on the outside!

With the harbor winds coming and going, it did make hanging the fish prints to dry a little difficult. Luckily, we have yet to have someone end up with a splatter of our ink on their clothes.

If you're reading this and you didn't get a chance to fish print, all summer long we'll have events at various beaches and sites. So keep your eyes peeled for Save the Harbor/ Save the Bay events from Nahant to Nantasket! 

Have a great summer!
Ray

Nothing but Fish Prints

There's nothing better than making fish prints with tons of kids at the Seafood Festival at the Fish Pier. That's how I spent my Sunday afternoon. Children came down to the Fish Pier with their parents to enjoy a wonderful day of festivities. We were there making fish prints with the kids for the whole time we were there. From red and blue, to orange and grey, to yellow and blue fish, every color of fish you could have imagined was probably made at the Seafood Festival. It's always a blast helping kids make fish prints too. I helped make a print with a kid. He said it was his first time in America, and his first time seeing a flounder; the type of fish we used for the prints. I was excited that I was able to help him with his fish print and I was even more thrilled that I was of of his first experiences in America.

Although we were there making fish prints with the kids, there were other things going on at the Seafood Festival. There were street performers, and food trucks of different seafood. There was a street performer there that was amazing! He was a dancer from Boston. Anything you threw at him he could do. He could tap dance, he could pop lock, and he could do flips at will. He was one of the most exciting performers of the day, and by far my favorite one. See you on my next blog, Preston.

Seafood Festival!

Hi everyone! It's blog time!

      So, this past Sunday I had the opportunity to participate in the 15th Annual Boston Seafood Festival. Since the festival was going all day long, we split into shifts to run the Save the Harbor/Save the Bay booth in the children's activity area. I ended up on the last shift of the day, though the festival itself continued for a little while after our shift ended. When I arrived I was quickly overtaken by the smell of delicious, freshly cooked seafood. I could feel myself becoming more and more hungry as I passed each booth in search of ours.

Richard, hanging up a freshly made fish print.

      Eventually, I managed to track down the Save the Harbor booth, where we would be doing fish printing with the kids that came by. We had a big table set up with a couple of flounder ready to be printed on it. As kids came by, they would get to pick up to 2 colors of ink to put on the fish. Then, we would help them spread the ink over the fish, paying special attention to the fins, tail, and head. Once that was done, we would gently press a piece of paper to the fish to transfer the ink. Once the print was done, the kids would sign it and we hung it up to dry, so they could come back and pick it up later.

Ivy, one of the Seafood Fest staff, gets in on the fun!

Till next time,

Justin

Fish Print Fridays

Here at Save The Harbor, we make amazing fish prints with the children. Usually painted with about two or three colors, you cover a fish with paint. When you have successfully painted the fish, you then place a piece of paper on the fish. When you lift it up; voila!, you now have an amazing fish print! Children and the staff love making them. After the fish print is made, we usually keep them to make a big mural at the end of the summer. Watching the kids frantically paint and splash the fish with paint is always a joy to watch. It is just one of the priceless moments here at Save The Harbor.


After an amazing day of fish prints, I had an opportunity to teach a few kids how to fish. Although we didn't catch anything, its always a blast watching children do things for the first time. Fishing has always been really interesting to me and since learning I am glad I can teach other kids. I have a blast fishing and watching children learn. Well, until next time, Preston.

A Week's Worth of Clamming and Painting at Carson

On Monday, I had my first ever fish printing experience. Lindsey brought a flounder, caught at a different site, to create the print. Making a fish print is rather easy, you simply cover the fish with the desired color you want, place a clean sheet of paper over the fish, and very lightly press the paper so all the parts of the fish are visible on the paper. We did many fish prints with the kids, and each one came out unique and different. Carson always has an opportunity to release your creative outlet. America SCORES leads activities in poetry and painting and yesterday a sand sculpture was being built on our beach. I can't wait to see how it came out!

When we are not letting our inner artist out at Carson, we are busy digging for clams. On Tuesday, we seemed to have hit the clam mother-load. It started with finding small clams and escalated into reaching down into the sand and finding huge soft-shell clams. Staff and kids alike were amazed by how many clams we were pulling up! You could not take a step without seeing the squirts of water popping out from the sand. As an added bonus, a camper found a razor clam in the water, which is always really exciting! Carson has not failed once to bring on the ocean fun!

Til next week,
Nora

Fish Prints @ Spectacle

Hi Friends!

><> HAPPY SHARK WEEK <><

Today was my first official day back on AABH and it was amazing!  Arriving on the dock after our quick boat ride over, it felt like last summer never ended and I was walking right back into my normal routine.  The eager kids and counselors hustled off of the boat and wondered what to do first.  Normally fishing and sports are the big contenders when it comes to activities, however today I brought along a unique treat.

Thanks to Bruce's fishing skills, I was given a black fish to ink up and use to create beautiful fish prints.  At first the kids were more interested in the fish itself.  Asking if it was still alive (no worries..it wasn't), where it came from, and what I was going to do with it.  However, before I could even finish explaining, the kids eagerly grabbed brushes and started choosing ink colors and designs.

It was a color storm of blues and greens and splattered inks but after a few trial and error attempts, the kids got the hang of it.  And the final pieces they produced are really beautiful!  Once my hands were sufficiently stained blue and purple, and the fish was all but falling apart, I explained to the kids that it was time to use the fish for bait.  That way it didn't go to waste and it would help them catch more crabs and fish.

Printing took up most of my time today, but everyone else was all smiles at both the fishing and the sports stations.  It was a fantastic start to AABH!  Just like last summer, no day on spectacle is complete without swimming, so I took my inaugural dip.  It was cool, refreshing, and a perfect way to end the day.

Can't wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store!


~~Lindsay

Fish Printing Fun!

Well, this is certainly something new. Never in my whole entire life have I seen such...creativity.

Working at the fishing event today was pretty interesting to see so many kids interested in fish printing, as it's something I would've never been brave enough to do as a kid. Another thing that amazed me was that you didn't have to continuously clean the fish, you could just put a little more of the base color that was desired and boom! New fish print.

One thing that was exciting was seeing kids add cool designs such as stripes and dots to their fish. Alot of parents wanted to take them home, but Lindsay made sure to reassure them that they would be able to visit the website and see their fish print online!

Somtoo

My first festival- the Boston Seafood Festival!

This Sunday was the first festival I have ever been to. The Seafood Festival 2014 was awsome, besides the weather of course. I was suprised because that same day, even though it was raining so hard and thunderstorming many people still stayed and attended the event. They all look like they were having a blast and so was I. There were people dressed as pirates, lobsters, crabs, and even a mermaid! There was great food, and the lines were crazy long.

The first kids to showed up, and try fish painting.

I remebered many people were attracted to our table because it was something different and intresting. We were doing fish painting and many people had never heard of it or knew what it was, including me. I remebered many random people walking by and asking, "is that a real fish?!" and were shocked that it really was. But after Sam taught all of us how to do it, it was really fun to do. I not only had fun that day, but also learned something new.

I'm sure I will be learning many more new things this summer with Save the Harbor.

Catch you later,
Nhu

Seafood Festival Fun

Hello,

On Sunday, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay attended the 3rd Annual Seafood Festival celebrating 100 years of food, culture, and economy on the Boston Fish Pier. When I arrived, it was raining. But the rain didn't dampen the festivities that ran underneath big white tents along the pier. Senior Harbor Educator, Sam, and our Junior Program Assistants set-up a table to create fish prints.

Senior Harbor Educator, Sam, leading a fish print at the Boston Seafood Festival

Sam showed us how to create a fish print. We used a few different types of fish including flounder. First, Sam cleaned the fish from any residue it had. Second, he put several drops of acrylic ink on the fish; he choose a base color and an accent. Third, he spread the ink over the fish to make sure it covered its head, gills, fins, and head. Then, he cut a piece of rice paper, and he placed the paper on the fish. We helped him pat down and smooth out any ink spots. When he lifted the paper, a wonderful fish print was created.

After my shift ended, I was able to explore the festival which had music, art, and vendors. I even had a cup of chowder from No Name Seafood. It was a rainy yet rewarding day.

See you on the pier,

Iris Ayala

Boston Seafood Festival Prevails Through Storm

Despite the unfortunate weather the Boston Seafood festival on the Historic Fish Pier was more than a success. I helped run  a tent where we offered the art of fish printing. Sure, kids could have just colored or painted sea themed pictures, but fish printing is a rare art form not many get to experience!


We were fortunate enough to get a donation from a local fish monger which included large whiting,  summer and winter flounder, all beautiful fresh specimens! The printing started immediately. I set up color stations of ink which would compliment each other, and kids would pick what schema they wanted. Purples, pinks and reds seemed to be the most popular!! After the kids inked the fish with what ever design they chose, we would help them lay the rice paper and imprint the fish! Some kids got attached to their artwork which was funny to see, so we let them carry their piece away with them.

When we were not fish printing, we were taking a look around the festival and trying the seafood cuisine! We even ran into Johnny Depp which was pretty cool to see! :)


Now that I have so many fish prints, I have the means to construct a mural! It will begin this week!


Sam