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Acting as both an exploratorium and a herbarium, Up Close: Blooming Earth brings us intimately close to the Greening, a term by the Christian mystic, Hildegard of Bingen, Germany. The body of work was initiated in 2021 and exhibited in 2024. The body of work contains 30 paintings which are each framed in a shadow box.  Each piece comes with its own handheld magnifying glass. The magnifying glass allowed visitors and patrons of each painting to look closely and see how mycelium grows together in layers. Like early explorers, you will find that each painting highlights the use of mycelium as a medium. Mycelium is the soil-like substrate that fruits mushrooms. Through the mycelial network, messages are sent through the mycelium living under, inside, and all around trees and all plant life. This substrate shares 50% of our DNA. (Merlin Sheldrake, Entangled Life) The work invites you to learn more about the natural treasures found deep within our earth. Bees, butterflies, dragonflies, frogs, fungi, hummingbirds--in addition to species of mushrooms such as basket stinkhorns, orange mycena, and even an underwater, gilled mushroom found at  Crater Lake, Oregon in 2005 named Psathyrella Aquatica--all rely on mycelium and its information provided by tree networks and plants alike and are a part of the body of work.

 

The exhibition is an Earth-inspired, botanical wonder highlighting the use of foraged materials, botanical painting methods, and mycelium as a medium. The mycelium used in select pieces is unseeded, meaning it is a substrate that will never fruit mushrooms. Each piece has been oxidized at 200 degrees, which removes any remaining natural anomalies and cures the pieces into one whole-fired object. The goal of this body of work is to bring awareness to the delicacy of our planet and its natural wonders. Through the use of healthier materials for a healthier world, we battle a term coined by Jane Goodall: Eco-Grief. This is my way of inspiring future generations of stewards working on the behalf of the natural world. I also host workshops informing participants how they can participate in an effort to continue to heal the Earth through the use of natural materials. When we begin to green our lives we heal ourselves and the Earth. My work is biodegrade, leaving behind no trace if left in the ground. If kept in a controlled environment, the works will last a lifetime.

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