2019 #13 Topic Introduction: Mushrooms

 2019 Topic 13: Mushrooms

Hello everyone, Keren here with a fun-gi topic (I'll try and keep corny puns to a minimum! ). Mushrooms really get a bad rep and many of us limit our usage of them to the good old button mushroom, but beyond that there's a magical world that often seems like someone has dreamed them into existence.

Maybe like me, you didn't realise that there are 15000 types of wild mushroom in the UK alone. They have a unique shape and provide great sources of both nutrition and inspiration. Life may be too short to stuff a mushroom but we'll try and stuff as many mushrooms into this post as possible!

We begin with a gorgeous project from Autumn Clark using Scrapcosy set no 5 featuring a real autumnal vibe and the ubiquitous red mushroom (which is called Fly Agaric).

Autumn Clark

Mentioning before about what many regard as a traditional mushroom, having grown up reading The Magic Faraway Tree and The Wishing Chair, my ideal fairy mushroom home would look exactly like this!

PNGTree

Simple can be stunning. The pared back treatment of these mushrooms is so delicate and captures the intricacy of the spines/pores/gills so effectively.

Christmasen

Capturing the essence of a fungi in miniature is a challenge. These next two pieces are just lovely examples of successful reduction.

Terrarium Necklaces

I could see these decorating anyone's table or mantelpiece and love the mossy bases to give the items a grounding.

 Life Is A Party

Some artists draw exactly what they see rather what they imagine. Ernst Haeckel's art was so full of precision that his drawings are still in text books today. Looking at these beautiful representations, it's hard to believe they are real.

Ernst Haeckel

Some artists use comedy and whimsy to great effect and the mushroom shape lends itself to being adapted into all sort of forms.I love the way this artist has created people that 'work' despite having no faces.

 Amy Ross

This next artist has produced something that reminds me of a political satirist. Don't you love the textures from the mushroom spores that perfectly replicate the hair or the puffy hat from the front fungi who looks remarkably like a senior politician!

 Source

The richness of this velvet echoes the velvety texture of some of the mushroom varieties. Beautiful colour differences add to the realism of the subject matter.

Julie Collings

This fantasy piece has a real art deco feel. She looks wonderfully mushroom-like yet without oddity.

Liigaklavina

 Rock painting is nothing new, although the craze to leave painted rocks for others to find is gaining in popularity. This is a clever way of incorporating the shape of the rock to provide the perfect shape for the mushroom cap. 

Source

The richness of colour and vivid shine is so appealing in these ceramic beauties. The wonderful indentations possible with the medium gives realism and the quirky colours are stunning.

Murava Ceramics

You almost think that this next photo is man-made. The mushrooms are such the perfect colour contrast to the background and seem to be coming from nowhere.

Coisas de Tere

We're all about the creative side, and the blogger here has created some intriguing lanterns containing some miniature painted papier-mache and peg mushrooms. I definitely want to make a version of these!

The Glitzy Pear

This next perfectly coiffed paper-crafted project combines earthy colours, lots of textures and our hero the mushroom sat front and centre. 

Emma Williams

The next set of photos show the awesome detail of these fabulous fungi. Seeing the different colours and backgrounds gives real food for thought when imagining our mushroom projects.

 Bored Art

Notice the bokeh camera effect contrasting with the shine and those mushrooms that look so temptingly edible.

 Bored Art

These gills look like folded paper. This could be an exciting piece to recreate using old book pages or coffee stained filters.

Bored Art

I included this next picture as an example of the different shapes and colours that are found in the fungi family. It is reminiscent of orange segments and pith; mesmerising!

Bored Art

This photo was snapped in Maui . They don't look real, and yet it's easy to imagine layers of Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics to mimic this effect.

 The 3 Foragers

I thought we'd finish with something really beautiful and a little whimsical. These mushrooms are certainly special and a good reminder to incorporate fabric and other textural elements into our pieces of art. Look at the attention to detail and spot the tiny hedgehog resting awhile atop the cap!

 Olga Ravenskya

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I hope you've enjoyed this woodland romp through all things mushroomy!

You're going to love the projects we have coming up for this topic. We are not doing the linked challenge  for 2019, so if you want to create along with us and this topic, please share on our social feeds so we can see what you get up to. 

The best places are Instagram @paperartsy or post in PaperArtsy People Group on Facebook. Make sure you tag us in your contributions, we love to see what you get up to in your creative world!