When being introduced to biomaterials art practices, I learned that the best way to engage with living materials is as collaborators- giving them the autonomy to guide the work. Inspired by this, I personified the materials into a puppet as a way to encourage myself to form a deeper relationship with them. I chose to work with mycelium, kombucha SCOBY, and indigo for this project because they are materials that are living and need to be cared for throughout the artmaking process. I especially saw mycelium as a well-suited collaborator for this project because I could establish a base form and then give the fungus free rein to add personality through texture and fruiting mushrooms. His character was developed from both the way the materials presented themselves and from cultural imagery that made him feel familial to me- most explicitly Jim Henson’s Muppets. Through the process of cultivating, caring for, and collaborating with these materials I was able to not only build relationships with these organisms, but also to build a more dynamic, living relationship with my own work.

Materials: Mycelium, wool, cotton, silk, SCOBY leather, and wood. Fabrics dyed with indigo, madder, chamisa, avocado & beets.

Exhibited in the December 2024 show: Grown in Defiance of Broken Systems at Bingo Gallery in Albuquerque NM. Show included a performance of a karaoke parody of “Being Green” followed by a brief Q&A with the character.