Transforming Mushrooms into Natural Pigments: A Demo

Ready to dive into the magical world of fungi and natural color? Join artist, farmer, and Mushroom Color Atlas creator Julie Beeler as she takes you on a vibrant journey through the fungi kingdom. You will learn how to unlock the mesmerizing hues from wild mushrooms and transform them into pigments, paints and inks.

The incredible colors held in mushroom pigments mirror the vast array of hues we can encounter in the natural world. Creating pigments from mushrooms yields a quantity and quality of colors that stand in stark contrast to the hues made from synthetic dyes. The colors produced from mushrooms seem to share a visual lineage—each hue transitions smoothly to the next in a sort of familial harmony.

In an era when we are increasingly reliant on technology and corporate consumer goods, creating colorants from mushrooms feels like a radical act. Working hands-on with the fruits of the fungi kingdom is an opportunity to reorient ourselves toward renewable sources and sustainable practices.

When: February 26th from 6 pm to 7:30 pm

Price : Free

Location: Cura Contemporary in the Edes Building | 17395 Monterey Road, Morgan Hill CA, 95037

About the Artist:

Julie Beeler is an acclaimed designer, artist, and educator inspired by the natural world. Her work has been featured by The New York Times, Popular Science, The Smithsonian Institution and The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, among others.

Julie created the Mushroom Color Atlas website to unveil and celebrate the resplendent chromatic universe hidden within the fungi kingdom, making it accessible to people around the world. Her book The Mushroom Color Atlas, recently published by Chronicle Books, is a comprehensive primer on the universe of colors lurking inside fungi. It is equal parts art book, field guide, and dye-making workshop. In every form her effort is a timeless reference that will be used for years to come.

After a 20-year career at the vanguard of interactive design, Julie founded Bloom & Dye, a natural dye studio and farm in the Pacific Northwest ideally situated for foraging mushrooms, growing fresh-cut color, and creating fine art. She can be found online at juliebeeler.com.

Host or Publisher Cura Contemporary Gallery