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AMAZING MYCO-STIX |
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At the 10th International Fungi & Fiber Symposium in Rovaniemi, Finland, August 2001, Miriam C. Rice introduced her newest experimental work with mushroom dye pigments: |
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| "MycoStix"© , a drawing tool similar to crayon or Conté in appearance, but with a greater range of possible uses. Myco-Stix can be used for either watercolor or oil painting, pastels, or for encaustic, depending on which kind of binder is added to the mushroom pigment, |
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| and what type of drawing surface is used. Miriam feels that this work is just in its beginning stages, just like the mushroom dyes were 30 years ago, and is looking forward to presenting further developments in the range of color, by experimenting with Australian species. She continues to extend the invitation to all to join in the experimentation at the 11th International Fungi & Fiber Symposium in Denmark, Australia. And just look how far the mushroom dyes have gone! | |||
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Janice Laud (Australia) making Myco-Stix |
Finished
Myco-Stix |
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Since Miriam was unable to attend the Symposium, her associate Dorothy Beebee
presented the Myco-Stix workshop, following Miriam’s intent to use only
Australian species of fungi, and "pencil clay "as a simple
"medium/binder". We explored the possibilities of using dried samples
of Dermocybe splendida, Anthrocophyllum archeri, and an
unidentified fresh Dermocybe sp.(which we were drying by the heater). We
used an old electric coffee grinder to pulverize the fungi into fine granules,
and then strained those granules through a fine strainer, until we had the
finest possible powdery consistency to blend with the pencil clay and a tiny bit
of water. Then the Myco-Stix were molded by hand into a short triangular
shape which Miriam prefers, and set aside to dry slowly for 24 hours before use
. (Since this class was on the last day of the Symposium, none of us really had
a chance to draw with them until we returned to our respective homes). |
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The second part of the class was spent using those Myco-stix which had been pre-made by Miriam Rice using California fungi and variety of media, (beeswax, Psuedohydnum gelatinosum, and pencil clay). Different types and textures of paper (drawing, pastel and watercolor) were offered to the students to explore the many possibilities of the medium using both wet and dry papers. We then, took the exploration one step further and introduced a new technique at the Australian Symposium, by using samples of many types of fabric on which |
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| to draw or paint….China silk, raw silk, cotton, wool, hemp, canvas, linen and several blends produced some amazing results. And then everyone drew a little picture or wrote a message with the Myco-Stix on a fine woolen scarf (from a wonderful woolen craft shop in the town | |||
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of Denmark), to send to Miriam who was unable to attend the Symposium because of health problems. The class was supposed to last only for the morning, but so many students were interested, we extended it to an "open studio" for students to continue to explore the possibilities of Myco-Stix on fabric. The finished swatches of cloth were then ironed with a steam iron, between paper towels, to set the Myco-Stix colors on the individual pieces of fabric. | ||
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