MUSHROOM ART
Art made from mushrooms.
Inspired by Psyche.
The Forest of Enlightenment is a journey into the heart of who we are. Abstract encaustic paintings, photos, prints, and installations are made with and inspired by magical mushrooms. Mushroom art is Jungian infused, Psyche inspired, and healing. We offer original art, museum quality prints, space consultations, and custom/consignment pieces to fit your space .
Mushrooms are a path to healing & enlightenment 🍄
“Flow State” encaustic wax, pigment on birch board. 36” x 60” original unframed $7200
Museum quality archival prints from $495 (depending on size).
Mycelium Running
“Mycelium Running” Diptych
72” x 36” encaustic wax and pigment on board.
Original (two paintings) $18,000.
Museum quality art prints starting at $600 based on price per square inch. Inquire with dimensions.
Mycelium
is the network of thread-like structures called hyphae, from which the fruiting body, or mushroom grows. Mycelium is similar to a "root system" (although mushrooms don’t have roots). Its form is that of branched, slender, entangled, hyaline threads. Mycelium networks are found in and on soil and many other substrates.
Magnificent Polypores
Love at first site! Inspired by an exotic Lentinus mushroom living on a tree deep in a forest in Aspen, CO. Its honeycomb-shaped pores drew me deeply in.
“Poly Amorous” 36” x 60” encaustic wax on birch board. Available framed or unframed.
$7200. original painting
Prints on museum quality paper starting at $600 (price depends on the size. Contact us for exact price).
The mushroom ink blot test
What do you see?
Coprinus “ink”
Certain species of inky cap mushrooms can be collected and placed in jars until their gills liquify and produce a black, inky substance. The mushroom goo is then boiled and strained and used as ink. In my work, I apply it on Japanese rice paper which is then embedded in wax on a birch board. Light pigment is applied in or around the shaggy ink blot painting.
The “ink blot” series allows the viewer to interpret mushroom art – made from shaggy mane mushroom ink – through a psychological lens.
The idea of interpreting "ambiguous designs" to assess an individual's personality goes back to Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli. Inkblots was central to a 19th century game called Gobolinks. Freud later developed the Rorschach test, as the first systematic approach to allowing unconscious material from a patient to arise when describing abstract images.
“Freud’s Rorschach” 20”x20” Encaustic beeswax, coprinus (mushroom) ink, pigment, on birch board. Available framed or not.
Original Paintings $1400 each unframed
Prints on museum quality paper from $300.
“Sporalating” 20” x 20” encaustic beeswax, pigment on birch board.
The iconic Amanita muscaria 🍄
“The surface of these paintings is amazing. It’s like hanging a slab of polished marble.”
-Suzie M., client
“Amanita Blanc de Blanc” 36” x 36.” Encaustic beeswax and pigment on board. Original painting $6200.
Giclee prints on museum quality paper from $495.
“Neuronal Pathways” 36” x 36” encaustic wax and pigment on birch board. Framed or not.
Original painting $6200.
Giclee prints on museum quality paper from $495.
“The Lucid Dream”
Encaustic wax, pigment, and 36 grams of psychedelic “Lucid” mushrooms. How much does a soul weigh? Paintings that revisit the debunked theory that a soul weighs only 12 grams.
36'“ x 36.”
Inquire here about pricing.
“Flying” Amanita various images.
“Flight of the Amanitas” 2024, 60” x 30” encaustic painting with embedded hand foraged and dried Amanita muscaria mushrooms. Inquire here about pricing.
Amanita mushrooms are the most recognizable fungi on the planet. Some species are intoxicating. Others are deadly, and some are considered choice edibles. Identify your mushrooms carefully before ingesting them.
Amanita muscaria are noted for their intoxicating properties due to their main psychoactive constituents: muscimol and its neurotoxic precursor, ibotenic acid. This iconic mushroom was historically used to induce hallucination by the indigenous shaman of Siberia, Kamchatka, and Central/South Americas. Vikings ingested them prior to war. Amanita muscaria appeared on rock paintings dated back to at least 3500 BC. The Amanita inspired the fairy tales of Santa Claus and flying reindeer (who apparently like eating amanitas), and Amanitas are found in the illustrations of Alice in Wonderland.
Today, muscimol, an alkaloid derived from certain Amanitas, is being studied as a medicine for various conditions. Increased pharmacological interest in Amanita muscaria’s role against some neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s is of growing interest in medical research. Extracts of Amanitas are currently sold as an effective anti-anxiety and sleep formal.
Some Amanitas – such as the grisette – are considered a choice edible, but others – such as the Panther Cap (Amanita pantherina) can be deadly.
Turkey Tail
the master healer
Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor)
Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) is a functional medicine mushroom known for building a strong immune system. Research also proves its strong anti-tumor qualities. Imagine meditating on this image in your healing space!
“The Tiger Awakens” and “Turkey at Work” encaustic beeswax and pigment on board. Several variations available.
Original 20x20 wax on board $1400 each
Museum quality archival prints starting at $299.
Turkey tail grows in the wild in much of the world and it is often cultivated in facilities and extracted into powders and liquid extracts to support the immune system.
The Star Gazer series dives into the powerful Peruvian star gazer psychedelic mushroom embedded in handmade Japanese rice paper, beeswax, and pigment.
“Stargazer” 10 x 10, dried mushrooms embedded in wax and pigment. Many variations. This series is best hung as a group of 3-6 images on a wall.
Original paintings $600.
Delicious. Boleus edulis: the prized porcini mushroom.
Every chef’s dream! A perfect porcini growing in a Colorado forest. Wild harvested porcini mushrooms embedded in encaustic wax on birch board. Each piece is 20 x 20 on solid birch board. Many variations and custom pieces can be created.
The many faces of mushrooms loved by chefs and beautiful as abstract art.
“The Cosmos” encaustic wax, pigment and photo on birch board 36” x 36”. Variable pricing depending on size.
“Flying Anemone.” Photo of the cap underside of a Sarcodon imbricatus (hawk’s wing) mushroom on museum-quality paper, metal, or glass.
Art Prints starting at $325 depending on size.
“Underworld” encaustic painting over photo, on birch board 20 x 20.
“Emerging” (below) encaustic wax on board 20 x 20.
Why does art from the forest matter? Because it’s beautiful…AND it is necessary.
“Art isn’t just decorative anymore.
It’s part of the entire model of healthcare.”
— Dr. Lisa Harris
“When you are an artist, you are a healer.”
— Naomi Remen
What is encaustic? Pigments are mixed with hot liquid beeswax. After the wax is applied to the painting surface – usually wood, plaster, or canvas mounted to a board, a heating element such as a heat gun or blow torch is passed over the surface until the wax is fused to the surface. Encaustic wax has many of the properties of oil paint, and in addition it offers a brilliant and elegant surface that traditional paint cannot achieve. Encaustic painting was invented by the ancient Greeks and has continued on for thousands of years.
Why abstracts? Can non-realistic images embody an idea or feeling? I would argue that they can. Trained in realism it was all that I KNEW. And yet…while hiking in the forests and studying mushrooms, the mushrooms themselves taught me how to abstract them into stunning images for homes, healing centers, hotels, and retreat centers. I believe that the soul of each mushroom shines through each encaustic painting.
Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor.) Archival photo print on museum quality paper (any size). Perfect for a healing center, doctor’s office, home, or hotel.
Prices start at $425 (18 x 24). Please call us for other sizes.
What do you find in the FOREST?
How many people these days really search through forests? Forest of Enlightenment is a journey deep into the wild heart of nature with emphasis on fungi and the mycelial network hiding in lush forests. My work takes me deep into nature to observe the secret world living among the trees. My process begins by wandering off-trail into quiet and remote places with eyes on the ground. My close relationship with flora, fauna, and fungi through photography, mixed media, encaustics, and oil continues to expand.
My fascination with the philosophical and biological interconnectedness of the human world and nature is a driving force behind this work. My lifelong love of wandering in nature involves deep looking, meditating, and capturing the special intersection of subject and light that calls to be seen. When abstracted or realistically portrayed, mushrooms deliver healing, beauty, and art that is worthy of deep reflection.
How do we integrate the secrets of the forest?
By bringing it inside!
Shelf polypore (Fomitopsis pinecola). Droplets – or guttation – is a source of bioavailable compounds. Fomitopsis is used in research for its anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-viral properties.
“Drops of the Divine” photo above on museum quality paper, metal, or glass. Please contact us for a quote based on your space requirements.
“Rosy polypore” growing on a log in Winter Park, CO
Yum. Delicious in dishes and erotic on walls.
“Oysters in Love,” photo on archival paper. Call for a quote based on size and material.
Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) grow wild but are also cultivated for culinary purposes. in the wild Oysters grow on hardwood trees such as beech and oak, but also on conifers.
Abstractions + Dreamy Realism
Mushrooms are magical no matter how you look at them.
“Shakti Rising” (Larch bolete/Suillus). Photo on archival paper printed to size.
“The Trumpet Calls” (Clitocybe gibba). Art prints starting at $400 . Contact us for prices on various sizes.
“Hawks Wing” (Sarcodon imbricatus). Photo on paper, metal, or glass.
An edible mushroom found throughout the world including the Colorado Rockies.
