On the 4th Day of Christmas...

...this blogger gave to thee...

...four fancy fish...

...three granulations...

...two bits of wood...

...and a calendar made of tea.

For the 4th day of Christmas, I am having a long lie, watching an ice skating movie with Michelle Trachtenberg*, having a cup of coffee and finishing another post from the long list of drafts I've furnished with images, videos and links, but no actual text.

In some respects though, this particular post doesn't need me to write about it, as I wouldn't do it justice, instead, I would like you to watch this video of artist Riusuke Fukahori working on his beautiful and intricate series, "Goldfish Salvation".

'A Cup Of Flower' (Rice Measure, Casting Resin & Acrylic Paint)

Painted on fine layers of resin using acrylic and confined within existing vessels, these hyper-realistic goldfish where inspired by the artists pet goldfish, who, while struggling with his artistic identity, became an integral part of his future.

 'Muses' (Sushi Basin, Casting Resin & Acrylic Paint)

 When you first look at Fukahori's work, it would be easy to believe that these were photographs of real fish.

'Goldfish Sake: Shinokaze'' (Japanese Cyprus Sake Cup, Casting Resin & Acrylic Paint)

They are intricately painted, each layer finely brushed onto a dried pool of resin, adding depth and tone to the emerging goldfish, mimicking the translucent, iridescent nature of fish fins and scales. If you have every owned fish, you can understand the delicacy which Fukahori has managed to capture.

'Karemoni' 2013 (Ceramic Bowl, Casting Resin & Acrylic Paint)

Fukahori's keeps goldfish in tanks and bowls around his studio, studying their form and movement closely, so his work never need rely on photographs to recreate the underwater creatures. They are committed to memory and preserved in resin.

His goldfish are his muse.

Every artist is looking for one of those. I certainly still am.

Link | Riuske Fukahori - Official Website
Link | Riusuke Fukahori Paints Three Dimensional Goldfish Embedded in Layers of Resin via This Is Colossal 
Link | Goldfish Salvation Project by Riusuke Fukahori via Abduzeedo Design Inspiration
Link | Riusuke Fukahori Intricately Paints Swimming Goldfish in Resin via Design Boom
Link | Riusuke Fukahori: Goldfish Salvation at ICN Gallery via Design Boom
Link | Breathtaking 3D Goldfish Paintings by R. Fukahori via Bored Panda
Link | Goldfish Salvation via Atsuko & Joe

Merry Christmas! Part five tomorrow...

*I loved roller blading when I was younger (and thinner), I would have loved to try ice skating, so I am unashamed that every time this Ice Princess comes on, I watch it and wish I had never gained weight and gotten too embarrassed to blade.

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Listening: Last Christmas - The xx

At the bottom of everything...

...lies a paper reef, surrounded by paper fish.

*designed, handmade and fitted by Elizabeth, Emily & Louise Boyd.

It's been a few months since we put in our last window display at work. Up until last weekend it had been filled with a rainbow paper chain curtain, but on Saturday and Sunday Louise, Mum and installed our paper reef. Something which Mum has been wanting us to do since we took over the windows a couple of years ago. It also ties in with my dads current obsession with marine tanks, so it's nice to do something they both love.

It has taken us about 3 weeks (not full days, since I work in the mornings) 2 days to install, approximately 1,800 cocktail sticks and 2,400 cotton buds, plus a couple pads of tracing paper, half a dozen newspapers, a couple of hundred cupcake cases and as many toilet rolls as I could collect over the past few months. I've looked like a lunatic when heading to the till at the local supermarket.

Though I do love it myself. It's the first window we'd done in ages which I have really enjoyed making and the obsession which comes with a time limit didn't actually make me go completely mental. Plus, one of the things I really love about it is that it looks as good from the inside as from the outside, which is why it took us an extra day and generally never happens!

There are a few more photos on my Flickr Stream, and I will be uploaded more once I've tweaked one end of display where a stand for sunnies had to go and thus needed to be left clearer so there wouldn't be a massive collapse. Anyway, apart from trying to make strawberry jam (raspberry jam and elderflower cordial were made on Tuesday), that's my plan for my day off. Get the window finished, oh and not wear makeup or brush my hair or think about looking 'smart'...love a day when you don't have to do that!
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Listening: Medicine - Daughter