Recycled Fish
Ekphrastic Fiction and Poetry based on Louis Renard’s Sea Creatures drawings from the 1719 book Poissons, Ecrevisses et Crabes (Fish, Crayfish and Crabs).
“It is good for the environment―good for fish and fishing,” Bobby Richardson.
“And it is all made from recycling,” I couldn’t believe what he was showing me.
“Yep, everything but the paint. The paint is new,” replied Bobby.
I picked up one of the fish. It fit in the palm of my hand and was heavier than I expected. It looked like it would float but it felt like it was made of glass. For example, “what is this one made of?”
“I started with a small glass bottle of mustard. The mustard is all gone, eaten on fish cakes with ketchup and mayo for fish sauce. The glass is filled with plastic bags, stuffed really full. I put the lid back on the jar and then drop the whole thing in boiling water for a few minutes. The plastic inside gets soft and sticky. I let it cool a little then open the jar and stuff in more plastic bags. Close it up then repeat until it is one gooey mess inside the mustard jar.”
“Does the melted plastic stink?” Bobby was the most creative 16-year-old I knew. Even though he was only a year older than me I looked up to him. He was always doing cool things, saving the environment, saving himself from a terrible home life. Bobby didn’t talk about it much, but I had seen his dad when he was drunk and angry and that was probably just the tip of the iceberg.
“No, it is just melted not burned up. Once the plastic has cooled off and hardened, I make the rest of the form with paper mâché made out of recycled paper, envelopes, magazines. Newspaper doesn’t work so well. I blend it all up with as little water as I can and then us it like clay. That’s what I make the rest of the body and tail out of.”
“That’s a lot of mustard you must be eating.” I pickup one that was long and thing with a long lip.
“I use all different kinds of bottles, including wine bottles.”
“And your mom and dad are okay with it?”
“I only do it when they aren’t here, which is most of the time.”
“So, this part is paper?” I pick up another smaller fish.
“No, when I have the body done the way I want it, I start wrapping the whole thing in plastic bags, knot the end to hold it tight and then stuff it down the fish’s throat. See.”
Bobby turned one so I was looking straight down it’s throat.
I heard a car pull up into the driveway.
“Dad’s home. You have to go.” Bobby quickly put the beautiful fish back into a box and shoved it under his bed.
“See you at school tomorrow.” Bobby shoved me out the backdoor.
Kosher Fish
I wonder did Louis Renard eat any of his fish / drawn so meticulously / claimed to be real aquatic animals / in East Indies waters / filled with whimsy and fantastical colors / Did he worry whether any were unkosher? / scale less, bottom feeders, predatory fish / crayfish, crabs, and shellfish
Ekphrastic fiction, non-fiction, and poetry is writing inspired by artwork.
