How to Display Your Fishing Rods (Plus: Catch-and-Release Trophies?)

We recently installed a really fun art gallery wall in a customer's home theater room, and I thought you'd enjoy seeing it.

The homeowner really enjoys fishing, and he had a whole collection of aqueous art for us to arrange. We began by laying it out on the floor and getting his approval, and then we cut paper templates so he could preview the layout before we actually installed the art.

This turned out to be a tall layout, and I was really happy that we were able to use so much of the wall space. It's nice when you can do that in a room with such high ceilings.

Notice the fish sculptures. From some angles, they almost look like the taxidermy trophies you sometimes see in a fisherman's home. But what if you're just fishing for sport, and prefer to catch and release? Well, these sculptures are the perfect alternative... they're actually ceramic with a raku glaze that's iridescent like fish scales.

Raku can be a tricky process with unpredictable outcomes, and it can be hard to make large sculptures like this because there's so much risk of cracking... so I had to admire the skill of the potter. I wish I'd gotten his or her name.

Notice how the fish are turned up slightly, as if they're coming up to take the bait. That was a little tweak we made at the suggestion of our client, and that's exactly why we prefer to start the layout with paper templates.

By the way, you'll have to use a little imagination to fill in the bottom of this arrangement. The custom wooden racks will hold the homeowner's collection of fishing poles.

In fact, they had a very outdoorsy theme in their home. Our other big project involved installing a large metal tree over their fireplace, and I really liked the way the texture of the tree contrasted with the grain of the wood on the chimneypiece. It was pretty high up though, and our client was happy not to have to wrangle it up there himself. Big pieces like this really are a two-person job, and you also need a very strong scaffold board in order to do it safely.

It can also be surprisingly tricky to hang a large piece over a bed without moving the heavy furniture. Fortunately, we have a few tricks up our sleeve for projects like this. And it made all the difference in the room to have a focal point over the headboard.

Speaking of color, I discovered a new artist during this project: the talented colorist Hessam Abrishami. I think I've actually seen his work before, but I never knew the name of the painter, so it was nice to see this picture in person and get to know his style better.

​I personally find it difficult to incorporate the full rainbow of colors into a painting without going over the top, but Abrishami skillfully offsets his riotous hues with enough neutrals to keep a pleasing balance.

If you've got large pieces like these which you'd like to display, but you're not sure how to do it safely, please give us a call. We've got the right ladders and scaffolds to reach all of those awkward spots.

​And there's nothing that makes a new house feel like "home" like finally having that special piece of art on the wall.

Give Us a Ring