Materials research
Research Blog | January 31, 2015
We are starting The Fungus Among Us, a 7 week course at ITP. One of my goals is to build a materials library to test – species differences – color (in the substrate, after the material has grown) – sealants – pliability – thinness – carvability using – natural dyes, – varnishes, – fibers, – beeswax…
Fungus gone wild
Research Blog | January 13, 2015
Left these test bricks for 30 days, and came back to living edible architectural edges. They were a bit rubbery but delicious oyster mushrooms (though they look more like coral reefs):
making mycelium material – some loose protocols
Research Blog | August 4, 2014
Supplies: grain spawn (many are fast growing; Pleurotus (oyster muchroom) is probably the fastest species, and is hardy, in terms of resistance to competition, but it will depend on the density you desire). You can purchase from mycosense, fungi.com, etc. I recommend mycosense because they are a small attentive company, and they are really into this process and work. 100…
Inoculation
Research Blog | July 15, 2014
I’m learning how to grow mycelium materials. First, a big shout out to Phil Ross for teaching workshops about this process, and for being a pioneer willing to share. Here are some janky documentation images of my process (with support and help from Jon Salmon of Mycosense and Sara Huston of TLAAG). I’ll get a more orderly post…
my first cast mushroom material, from a plastic cruise ship candy mold
Research Blog | March 11, 2014
Using Ecovative‘s GIY kit at school… A toy boat… cannot float, as the mycelium didn’t grow solid enough into the substrate. Not only did it hold as a form, but the two halves grew somewhat together, many days after I unmolded the cast.
fabricating with fungus
Research Blog | March 6, 2014
We’re just finishing a 7 week course at ITP called The Fungus Among Us. It’s an independent project/research studio for 16 students looking at fungus for fabrication, food, as metaphor (eco-systems thinking), and touched on spirituality, network theory (slime mold way-finding and the “wood wide web” even though they’ve been ousted from the Kingdom). We…
Grant Burgess, The DOVE Marine Laboratory
Research Blog | June 12, 2009
I had a tour, some lessons and an intense conversation with Grant Burgess, Director of the DOVE Marine Laboratory in Cullercoats, Northumberland (it’s part of Newcastle University’s Marine Biology Dept). This is one of the few labs that has a steady supply of seawater pumped through the building’s plumbing. It flows through the lab taps!…
Charismatic megafauna: you can’t live without ’em.
Research Blog | April 12, 2009
“Giant pandas are ‘charismatic megafauna,’ a category that includes whales and other sea mammals, salmon and other inspirational fish, eagles and other flashy raptors. In each instance, the creatures help spotlight the hundreds of humbler but equally endangered species: the black-spored quillwort, the longhorn fairy shrimp.” —”Birth and Rebirth,” USA Today, August 23, 1999 Usually…