Heather Fortner first saw a fish print, gyotaku, in 1976 in Hawai’i, and she has been printing and studying this art form since. The sea is an elemental part of her life; the art of fish rubbing resonates with her as the ultimate blend of the artistic and marine realms. She pursued this passion for the sea by authoring a book on Hawai’i’s edible seaweed while earning a degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Hawai’i in 1978.
The last 30 years of her life have involved working on and around the ocean; first as a commercial fisherman, then as a deckhand on research vessels, and finally as a ship’s officer in the merchant marine. She would often set up a studio on board the large merchant vessels, and print fishes caught from the vessel or found in fish markets in foreign ports. This travel gave her access to unusual fish as well as the opportunity to study with some of the Japanese Master Gyotaku artists in their studios in Japan.
After years of working in makeshift spaces on board ships, she now has a real printmaking studio in her home in Sarasota, Florida – the Orchid Street Studio. In one corner is a freezer dedicated for fish specimens, in another corner is a 24 inch Etching Press for nature mono-prints, and by the fireplace is a plant press for seaweed images. The studio windows open onto tropical foliage in all directions. These plants have been selected for their interesting leaves and flowers for Heather’s nature printed images.