Mushroom Festival

The 33rd Annual Telluride Mushroom Festival was the original impetus for heading to Telluride this summer.  

Unfortunately, our work-schedules and remaining vacation time were limited, so we would not be able to attend the entire festival.  

On Friday, the wife and I attended a workshop run by Alissa Allen called, "Pick Mushrooms - and Dye."  Alissa has been traveling the country, collecting information for an upcoming book on using mushrooms for creating art.

This workshop used four different mushrooms and their mycopigments for dyeing silk scarves. You can also use other materials such as wool, cotton, etc, etc., which produce different colors and combinations. And you'd better keep good notes, or you'll find yourself repeating the same attempts again and again.

The workshop was held in a commercial kitchen where four large pots were on a slow boil, each with a different kind of mushroom inside.

The fledgling field of mushroom dyes is still in its infancy.  It's sort of like medicine, where you practically have to try every substance in varying degrees and in combination with other substances to (hopefully) achieve your desired result.  Or the result may be a total surprise.

some of the class participants with their silk scarf creations

Considering the fact that there are over 3,000 species of mushrooms, the research has a long way to go. By using various "mordants" like aluminum or iron, the possible combinations are multiplied.

It was a lot of fun.  Each of the eight class participants got four silk scarves to experiment with, and more scarves were available for sale. Mine were OK, but not much to brag about.

One thing I learned for sure is that this "art" is extremely messy.  The slow cooking, the rinsing, the drying...some pigments will stain anything they touch, including skin.  You need a large space where you don't mind it getting really messy, including the kitchen.

I regret that I didn't get to experiment with any of the entheogens.