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!

*

This joint is jumping (with myco-nerds)! instagr.am/p/RVyt8rOtoL/

— Chris Slater (@_somnambulant_) October 28, 2012

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).

Here’s style-trial #2:  

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!

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.

If you, or anyone you know, would like to both have your designs featured in a professional gallery environment, and help a local artist-run center focused on challenging issues related to mental health and social marginalization, and promoting social and economic justice – please consider submitting a design by September 30th! This is a call to all BC Artists (any age or skill level).

Gallery Gachet’s T-shirt Design Contest — CALL TO ARTISTS! (British Columbia)

We’re calling for submissions from any BC artist who wishes to share their designs/artistry and have it emblazoned on Gallery Gachet t-shirts for everyone to see and enjoy; wear and buy. We’re looking for designs that represent the uniqueness of Gallery Gachet and the self-taught/dissident arts community that will be displayed and sold in the Gachet “Salon Shop” all year, starting this fall. Here is Gallery Gachet’s Basis of Unity to give you some inspiration:

Our Basis of Unity

• We agree to support the artistic and professional development of our community as a means to achieve social, cultural and economic justice
• We agree to support the wellness of people marginalized by their mental health, trauma and/or abuse experience
• We work for the elimination of discrimination against people marginalized by their mental health, trauma and/or abuse experience
• We believe in the expression and practice of art and culture as a human right
• We agree to promote the critical function of art and culture in building a healthy societyW
• We believe art is a means for survival, self-expression and health

The “Salon Shop” is an inclusive micro-gallery space located within our Gachet walls featuring work by Gachet’s collective and volunteer members. As art and cultural spaces and resources are seized and disappear, most artists are being left with limited options. The Salon Shop offers innovative ways to repurpose and share already existing space.

If you are interested in submitting a design for our public contest, you have until September 30th, 2012 at 5PM to get it to us.

The finalist will receive a free t-shirt, Gachet button, and will have their actual design exhibited in the “Salon Shop”, as well as having their design (and name) on t-shirts that will be walking around in the Vancouver community for the forseeable future. (All proceeds from sales will go back into supporting Gallery Gachet’s survival as a supportive space and community hub.) Have your design featured in a professional gallery space, visible at busy public openings and events, and have the opportunity to contribute to the financial health and wellbeing of Vancouver’s only arts and mental health artist-run centre!

Help us spread the word by sharing our call for public submissions on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/gallerygachet

HOW TO SUBMIT

Interested participants in the contest can either e-mail their submissions to tshirt @ gachet.org (or reply to this Craigslist posting), or visit the gallery in person to drop off hard copy designs (no bigger than 11 x 17 inches) by Sun Sept 30th, 5pm. Please clearly mark your package, PUBLIC T-SHIRT DESIGN CONTEST ENTRY and leave it with one of our Collective members on shift. Our address is 88 East Cordova Street, at Columbia. We’re open from weds – sun, 12 – 6pm.

Check out gachet.org or visit us in person at the gallery for more information on submission details.

We can’t wait to receive your design creations!

About Gallery Gachet: Gallery Gachet is a unique artist-run centre located in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside established in 1992. Through artistic means, Gallery Gachet aims to demystify and challenge issues related to mental health and social marginalization, to educate the public and promote social and economic justice. http://gachet.org