qathet regional district – Malaspina Art Society

Please enjoy a look at the creative process of Powell River artist Ursula Medley as she produced the wonderful triptych “Out of the Woods” for the group art show Underbrush: Mycelium Rising

Edible, poisonous, healing, destroying, feeding, transforming, nurturing, mind-altering, so tiny as to be invisible, and yet the largest single living thing on Earth,* mycelium cover much of the planet’s land surface, performing symbiotic tasks like providing underground networks inter-plant communication, crumbling rocks and minerals to make them bioavailable to plants, creating a true natural web.
When fruiting, via mushrooms, they create fantastical shapes, colours and patterns that have inspired artists forever; they really are magical in other ways as well, with their sometimes inherent psychoactive and medicinal attributes, industrial potential in removing toxins from our environment, and of course, as an important food source for creatures during the waxing and waning months in the spring and autumn.
As metaphor, mushrooms are to me like artwork is for artists: the manifestation of so much going on in our minds and souls; these precious and fleeting manifestations of a moment in time in our progress through our lifetimes. Enjoy our little online gallery of mycelium/mushroom inspired works by local qathet region artists.
– Giovanni Spezzacatena/Rabideye, show curator.
* http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141114-the-biggest-organism-in-the-world

Many thanks to our participating artists for their beautiful contributions. It’s my hope that soon we will be able to display these pieces in a gallery setting as well.

Tap on the thumbnail images below to see the full/larger versions, with details on the work and how to purchase or contact the artists, just underneath the larger versions; you may also read or leave a comment at the very bottom of each enlargement.