2012 VMS Annual Mushroom Show

Posted on October 31, 2012

I traded away a shift at the gallery this weekend so that I could make the VMS Annual Mushroom Show at Vandusen Botanical Gardens. Cas & I have been meaning to join the Vancouver Mycological Society since we moved to the city, and we finally had our chance at the show. We’re now card carrying members and are looking forward to the first meeting and talk.

The mushroom show was packed with incredible specimens (and not just fungi :p) as the weather was excellent and Vancouver boasts a huge number of myco-nerds* and enthusiasts. I snapped shots of some of the cooler schrooms, but there were hundreds of samples to check out.

My favourite display was the table on dying. I’ve been trying different substitutes for ink in my journey to reduce my footprint whenever possible. I typically work with an ink blend made up of acrylic, india, and chinese ink, which is water based, but still leaves behind waste that eventually ends up down my drain. I’ve tried some tea staining and while I like it for washes it’s never concentrated enough.

Enter mushroom colouring. The woman at the booth does yarn and fabric dying. She had two hot pads heating mushroom reductions on site, and after only 3 hours, the dye was dark and dense. She had displayed two reference books, Mushrooms for Colour and Mushrooms for Dyes, Paper, Pigments & Myco-stix, both by Miriam C. Rice (Illustrated by Dorothy M. Beebee), and NEITHER available at the library. Looks like I could get one of them on Amazon (ugh) but the other looks like it’s pretty out of print. Should you see one of these bad boys in a thrift shop or garage sale, be sure to tweet me please!

She kindly suggested I look into Phaeolus Schweinitzii (Dyer’s Polypore) as it is local and prolific in BC. However, before I start harvesting, I’m going to attend a few meetings so that I’m doing it ethically, and legally. I don’t want to poach on someone else’s harvesting grounds, nor do I want to disturb a habitat before I know more about the species. But I’m pretty stoked to start trying out mushroom inks in the new year, not to mention going on walk-abouts with knowledgeable mushroom lovers throughout the year. Time to get my hiking boots repaired and water proofed.

Mushrooms ho!

*

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Peek-a-button.

Posted on October 30, 2012

So, the Hot One Inch site hasn’t yet updated with this year’s artists and their button art. I’ve been asked enough (which is kind of awesome) by people who couldn’t make the show to see my submission, so here it is – my 2012 submission: LaLA! The Singing Mushroom. You may recognize him from such works as: La La! The Singing Mushroom pronto print (still available for sale).

Here’s a video of the night in time lapse. Now you too can enjoy the show without having to stand in the rain or be elbowed in the face by an enthusiastic trader (your loss).

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New Video: My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean – reprise.

Posted on October 30, 2012

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Stylin’ in the wind.

Posted on October 27, 2012

I had so much fun working on my manga illustration last night that I thought I would continue the trend. One of the other books I picked up from the library during my last trip was Posters for the People; Art of the WPA. I kept this one in Illustrator right up until the end. I couldn’t figure out an easy way to apply textures when it’s a 2-step process in Photoshop. They really do work well together.

Here’s style-trial #2:  

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For a good time visit…

Posted on October 27, 2012

Hot One Inch Action - 2012It’s that time of year and I’m in the show again! This time at the Hot Art Wet City pop-up gallery at 752 E Broadway, Vancouver. Show runs 8PM-11PM tonight, so bring your brolly, $5 (optional – but come on, don’t you want some awesome buttons??), and get ready to meet and trade buttons until your collection is juuuuust right.

See you then (I’ll be lingering near my button display).

 

Edit:

Despite the rain, the event was packed. Some excellent costumes appeared as the evening progressed and the enthusiasm of the crowd made up for the small, crowded space. By 8:30PM, I couldn’t hear a thing but I still made out like a bandit having Cas act as my haggler.

I really like how my design turned out, but I think it’s a little too detailed for the size. Each year, I learn something new and I love seeing how each artist makes use of the space. There were two or three designs that made excellent buttons and as soon as I can link to them on the Hot One Inch website, I’ll share em. Well done fellow artists! See you again next year.

My 2012 take!

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Practice, practice, practice

Posted on October 27, 2012

My plate has been pretty full the past few weeks. I’m bummed that I haven’t had time to blog, so I snuck in some time this evening for myself. An illustrator has to be able to emulate different styles when needed. I picked up this massive book called “The Monster Book of Manga – Girls” at the library last week. There are some awesome drawings in this book, but I’m pretty partial to woodland creatures being a rainforest dweller m’self.

Here’s the step-by-step drawing path they lay out for you in the book – my colours are pretty different and I’m determined to continue to work in illustrator vs. photoshop, so the final result is pretty different from the book, but all in all, I think she looks pretty darn Manga.

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