2000.1 - YELLOWTAIL TUNA

The Yellowtail Tuna was my first fish. I made it in response to a final exam that asked us to make something that floats. An additional bonus was that we would race them across a swimming pool. The tuna is ideal because it has a perfectly streamlined form, and it has a maximum volume because it has a circular cross section. That also made it easy to throw on the potter’s wheel. The prototype tuna I made as was only about 8” long. I made it swim by suction-cupping two miniature battery powered submarines to the bottom. My little prototype came in third in the competition, but one of the other contestants cheated by pulling his piece with a string. My prize for winning was several tiny plastic dinosaurs. The big (27”) tuna has some bubbly glaze flaws on the side that make it look like there are real bubbles along the skin. This is still one of my favorite pieces.