How to mount fish prints outside

Fiber & Textile Discussion and Questions
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I make a lot of fish prints, aka “gyotaku”, which look like this:

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That’s made from a halibut I caught by simply covering it in a non toxic ink called sumi ink and then putting “rice paper” over it to make a print. The paper isn’t actually rice paper, just has a similar texture. This is what I use:

And every time we make some prints we wind up with a ton of extras that don’t get framed. I thought a fun project for those would be to mount some of them outside on a fence I have in my yard.

I’m wondering if anyone has any tips for doing that?

I was considering epoxy, but wondering how to prepare the paper, and what epoxy to use. Also some EV protection would be nice.

Or maybe there’s another material to use? Something like modge podge?

Any other clever ideas?

Thanks for any help!

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Epoxy resin might work; is there a UV stable version? I think it yellows fairly quickly in the sun.

Maybe seal them under UV protective glass. If you could find a cheap source.

I wonder if you could coat it with a thin coat of clear silicone caulk, maybe bonded to a plastic backing (like Dollar Tree cutting mats).

For short term use, perhaps iron them between layers of waxed paper or plastic wrap. Neither is perfectly waterproof, but it would extend the life.

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That looks great

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Thanks. I staple them to my fence while they’re drying, looks so nice, would be so great to have them up permanently like this:

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Hmm.

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I would love to give a suggestion, but I can’t think of anything. All my mind keeps circling around is putting them on fabric, but even permanent ink on fabric will fade over time in the sun. They do look really nice on your fence. Maybe put them on outdoor canvas and switch them out each year, show what you have caught each season.

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Those are so interesting. And also huge? Is that the actual size of the fish?! My goodness.

You could have them printed onto outdoor banners at a good copy shop. I just can’t think of a way to make paper weather resistant.

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I should have mentioned that those are gorgeous.

I first heard of gyotaku in Sunset Magazine back in the '80s. They had directions (they used to have great craft projects!), so a crafty friend and I went to a fish market and picked out a good looking candidate. Fishmonger offered to clean it, and thought it odd we said no.

The prints came out fine, but I never did it again. I’ve seen many since; my favourite are octopi (tako).

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That is way cool! I really like the way they look on the fence. What about a type of varnish on it? I have used outdoor modge podge type sealant before. I live in a very rainy place and it seems to hold up.

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I don’t know for sure about this, but my first thought was the resin used for fiberglass, like when it’s put in strips on wooden boats.

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Oh my gosh, where have fish prints been all my life? These are so, so cool!

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And smelly, I’ll bet. How fun! I have a feeling kids would be so chuffed to try this as a science experiment.

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I can’t offer any suggestion, just wanted to say these are cool.

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