I am a designer, artist, educator and Oregonian who grew up with a deep love for and curiosity about the natural world. I have been drawn to mushrooms ever since I was a kid playing out in the forests at the base of Mt. St. Helens. Those forests were my playground until the 1980 volcanic eruption, when my playground indelibly changed. However, I continued to be surrounded by forests, near and far and everywhere in between.
I experiment with the unpredictability of plants and fungi by growing and harvesting, observing and foraging, and tethering myself to nature’s seasons. With the Mushroom Color Atlas I decided to be more exacting with my experimentation, like a scientist in a lab, following the same processes each time in order to create a baseline for mushroom color.
My background in interactive design, along with my years of teaching, informed my approach to publishing the Mushroom Color Atlas as an online, educational experience for people around the world. I was inspired to continue my own work and contribute to what I value most: curiosity, education, creativity, collaboration, community, and the environment.
The resulting color story I present in the Mushroom Color Atlas is from a point in time, but it is meant to grow and evolve like the natural world itself. It represents my connection to the mycological world and those networks and relationships. You can use this color story to inform your own work, deepen your relationship with your environment and perform your own experiments based on my findings. You might not duplicate my results but instead you will learn from them to inform your own work.
When I am not out foraging you can find me tending to the soil, working in my art studio, or leading workshops.