Teaching at Sterling College

Mycology & Color: A Chromatic Universe of Mushroom Dyes

Dye mushrooms and mushroomd dyed fiber.

Dye mushrooms and mushroomd dyed fiber.

Often forgotten in the realm of textiles, mushrooms have long been used as natural dyes, yielding some of nature's most vibrant colors. In this workshop students learned how to use fungi to create beautiful, vibrant, and nontoxic dyes perfect for any natural fiber.

Sterling StudentsAt Sterling College we spent a day in the forest, learning about and foraging for dye mushrooms. I walked students through the mushroom identification process and how to locate dye mushrooms using environmental indicators. The next day we spent in the studio going through various dye techniques, as students explore the myriad of shades these forest friends offer us. Everyone left with an understanding of how to find, forage for and identify dye mushrooms, wool fiber samples on their mushroom color chart they created, a large hand-dyed shibori kerchief, and an instructional craftbook including mushroom dye recipes.

Seasonal mushroom color palette for the month of May.

Online Mushroom Pigment Demonstration

I gave an online demonstration with mushroom pigments, paints and inks with Art Tool Kit.

Aureoboletus mirabilis overlayed above a mushroom dyes and pigments.

International Fungi & Fiber Symposium

The 19th International Fungi & Fiber Symposium in Port Townsend, WA October 2022.

Cortinarius mushrooms, specficially the subspecies dermocybes, are a great dyers.

Online Mushroom Dye & Pigment Workshop

Curious about fungi? Have a love of fiber? Combine your interests and learn how to use mushrooms to create beautiful, vibrant dyes perfect for any natural fiber.