TESSELLATION
by the MAKE A FISH FOUNDATION June of 2014
The Make A Fish Foundation is here to inspire the public to be artists, to be individualistic, to be expressive, and yet to be part of the community. They facilitate public art projects (alwaays with fish as their theme) such as urban renewal, decorating bridges (yes, bridges) and graffiti-mauled buildings, and these two fish tessellation paintings on display at the Fire and Steel 2014 event. The Fire and Steel Festival is something like a smallish Burning Man event, celebrating diversity, artistic individuality, and yet a sense of community. It's "E Pluribus Unum" with funny hats, funky music, and do-it-yourself art.
At these events, the Make A Fish Foundation supplies the canvases (and blank pendants, and other media), the fish outlines, glues, glitter, and the paints and pens. The public, especially people who don't ordinarily consider themselves artists, then fill in those fishy outlines with all kinds of stripes, polka dots, wavy lines...even fish skeletons.
The Make A Fish Foundation is mostly based in northern California and Nevada, though they're getting into Hawaii and hope to soon open chapters in other states and countries. (Interested? Contact organization founder Ben Baity for more information.) They hve ties to several artists-- sculptors, painters, and even some guy who sculpts entire beaches-- and bands. They have plans to decorate unsightly (and sightly) buildings and bridges, and even to go to schools and hospitals to give ...ummm....somewhat fishy...art opportunities.
