Gyotaku

So, I teach a class called Crafts From Around the World twice a week. I teach one class for kids that are 4 and 5 and one class for kids that are 6 through 9. Yesterday, we did Gyotaku, which is a Japanese artform of printing from fresh fish. So, I had asked for some fresh, dead fish, and they obviously were fresh because a few of the fish were breathing, but I didn't know that at first. I laid them all out on the table and let the kids pick one. They were able to pick the kind of fish and the size. The fish had been in the freezer, but once the fish's blood started to warm up, a few of them would move. Kids, would say, "My fish is moving." At first I didn't believe them, and I said, "You just want to believe that they are still alive, it's just your imagination." But, then I realized that they were moving, slightly.

The fish were so close to death, they wouldn't have made it had I put them in water. And where was I going to take a twelve inch sea bass to live anyway. I grew up on water; I fished, and touched fish and learned how to treat animals with respect, even after they're gone, and these are some of my best memories...these kids have not experienced much nature. I'm supposed to do gyotaku in two weeks again, but with the older kids, but I don't know if I can do it. I might change my lesson. It really did go against everything I believe in as a vegan, and I really was feeling the guilt.