I will be in conversation with author Cara Giaimo who co-wrote Atlas Obscura Wild Life along with the Cascades Raptor Center and moderator Elena Passarello. We will be chatting about our new books which are more than field guides, they are adventures.

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Plants & Colour has organized a year long program of live online demonstrations and recorded sessions from artists, pigment, and paint makers. Sharing processes for making natural art materials from raw plants, mushrooms, and earths to beautiful paints, inks, pastels, crayons, and printing inks. Each session will focus on a different colour and technique, building up a whole toolkit of skills and materials that you can use for drawing, painting, and printmaking. The kick off for this course is on October 22, 2024. I will be teaching two sessions during the year long course.

Introduction To Mushroom Colour For Inks, Paints - Tuesday 26th August 2025, 4-6pm BST/8-10am PST

Oil Based Printing Inks With Mushroom Colour - Tuesday 30th September 2025, 4-6pm BST/8-10am PST

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The Stevenson Mushroom Festival is the first annual event in the town of Stevenson, WA held October 18-19. They will be hosting a Mushroom Gala on Friday, October 18th at the Columbia Gorge Museum and on Saturday, October 19 you will be able to attend a variety of happenings and events throughout town.

On Saturday, October 19 at 1pm I am excited to be demonstrating Mushroom Pigments, Paints & Inks. The incredible colors held in mushroom pigments mirror the vast array of hues we can encounter in the natural world. Creating pigments from mushrooms yields a quantity and quality of colors that stand in stark contrast to the hues made from synthetic dyes. The colors produced from mushrooms seem to share a visual lineage—each hue transitions smoothly to the next in a sort of familial harmony. 

In this demonstration I will teach you how to extract and create a watercolor paint from mushrooms. I will cover general mushroom pigment techniques and walk through the process of transforming the pigment into paint and ink. 

In an era when we are increasingly reliant on technology and corporate consumer goods, creating colorants from mushrooms feels like a radical act. Working hands-on with the fruits of the fungi kingdom is an opportunity to reorient ourselves toward renewable sources and sustainable practices.

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Join me at the fabulous Trout Lake Hall to learn how to coax a myriad of colors from mushrooms and extract their pigments to make paints and inks perfect for any artist. In class we will unlock the pigments of commonly found Pacific Northwest dye mushrooms. We will cover the lake making process which is a great way to extract pigment from dye baths, and convert the pigment into a solution for painting and printing. Learn the process of making inks and play with mixing pigments into paints by exploring different ways to mix, bind and apply the pigment with natural materials so you can continue your exploration in more depth on your own. Everyone will leave with their own mushroom ink and a mushroom painted bookmark. 

$45 per person, limited to 20 people. Purchase tickets online at Trout Lake Hall.

A portion of ticket sales will be donated to Trout Lake ArtSmart

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In celebration of the book release in the UK, Yuli and Julie will delve into the kaleidoscopic fungi kingdom and the spectrum of hues created from mushrooms. Join myself and illustrator Yuli Gates in conversation about the making of The Mushroom Color Atlas book. Equal parts art book, field guide, and color distillation workshop, it is a comprehensive primer on the universe of colors lurking inside fungi. The book features beautiful botanical mushroom illustrations, colored by hand and outlined digitally,

4-6pm BST/8-10am PST

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I am thrilled to have collaborated with the Columbia Gorge Museum to showcase my new exhibition, Symbiosis. The exhibition features immersive ‘tree totems’ each displaying the chromatic interplay of hues created from regional fungi. A series of textile pieces, mono prints, and photographs visualize their relationship to the environment and create a portrait of our local ecosystem.

The exhibition opening event is on Saturday, October 12 from 6-8pm.

On view daily 10am-5pm from October 13 through November 22, 2024.

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Waucoma Bookstore and the Hood River Library are hosting authors Michael Beug and Julie Beeler on Wednesday, September 25th at 6pm at the Hood River Library for discussion of each of their books.

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The Oregon Museum of Science & Industry will be premiering Merlin Sheldrake’s film Fungi: Web of Life narrated by Bjork on Wednesday,September 11 from 6:30-8:30pm as part of the Oregon Science Festival and their series Reel Science.

Come experience this otherworldly Imax film and join Peter McCoy, Charles Lefevre, and myself for a lively discussion about the all powerful fungi kingdom–from their ability to provide solutions to our current climate and environmental crisis to producing delicious, delectable truffles to offering a myriad of colorful dyes and pigments. Moderated by award winning journalist Fiona McCann.

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Hope you can join me at the opening of my show, Take Root, at SATOR Projects on Saturday, September 7 from 5-7pm. The exhibition transports visitors through immersive ‘tree totems,’ displaying the hues created from one massive mushroom. A series of textile pieces, mono prints, and photographs visualize its relationship to the environment and create a portrait of our local ecosystem.

On view September 7 through November 2, 2024.

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The second BioColours conference will be in Helsinki, Finland from June 3-7. It is a conference organized with the University of Helsinki and everyone will be gathering to discuss and share findings of natural and bio-based colorants. The conference will bring together multidisciplinary views combining research with business around the theme ‘Sustainable Value Chain for Colour.’  On June 4 I will be presenting with an esteemed panel on the topic of Biocolourant Authenticity, Palettes and Potential.

I will be talking about the Mushroom Color Atlas: Dyes and Pigments Made from Fungi. It is a living study of colors derived from the pigments of fungi. The colors presented in it are only a small slice of the countless hues that can be produced in collaboration with mushrooms. In an era when we are increasingly reliant on technology and corporate consumer goods, creating colorants from mushrooms feels like a radical act. Working hands-on with the fruits of the natural world is an opportunity to reorient ourselves toward biodegradable, renewable, ecologically sensitive sources and sustainable practices.

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Enjoy at talk about the Mushroom Color Atlas and discover the stunning and diverse range of colors derived from the kaleidoscopic fungi kingdom. Hear about my process, learn how to forage and identify dye mushrooms and discover how to transform the color into dyes, pigments, paints and inks.

Enjoy a conversation with Raíz Symbiotisk, an artist-curator duo that teams up Emma Wood and Pamela Vázquez. They will discuss the inspiration and research behind their current Textile Center exhibition, "Archive II: Regeneration." We will also hear from exhibiting artists Julie Beeler, Lucero Paniagua Ortuño, and Kelly Wilson.

Curious about mushrooms for colour? In this online virtual demonstration, designer, artist, educator and creator of the @mushroomcoloratlas Julie Beeler, will teach how to extract and unlock the ‘tinctoria’ of common, easy to identify wild mushrooms.

She will cover general mushroom dye techniques, types of mushrooms and walk through the process of making dye baths and dyeing the fibre. She will talk about basic mushroom identification skills for a variety of dye mushrooms, discussing habitat, ethical foraging and safety. There will be a demonstration on how to yield a myriad of colours on wool, silk and cellulose fibres. We will transform the dye and explore the process of lake making to create mushroom pigments that can be used in a variety of forms ranging from water colours, inks, crayons, pastels and paint for fibre. This is a virtual class taking place on October 4 from 4-6pm BST/ 8-10am Pacific Time with @plants_and_color.

This is one two hour class taught live over Zoom. There will be an opportunity to ask questions of Julie during the live session. The live class is limited to 20 attendees. The class will be recorded and provided to them for review for two months. 

Calling all you indigo growers! Whether you have a small pot of indigo growing on your porch, a larger plot in your garden or you dream of growing indigo someday, the opportunities are endless when working with fresh leaf indigo.

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Fiber enthusiasts! Curious about fungi & natural pigments? Combine your interests and learn how to use mushrooms to create beautiful, vibrant, and nontoxic dyes perfect for any natural fiber.   Often forgotten in the realm of textiles, mushrooms have long been used as natural dyes, yielding some of nature's most vibrant colors. Artist, farmer, and aspiring mycologist, Julie Beeler, will go through various dye techniques, as students explore the myriad of shades these forest friends offer us. She will cover general mushroom dye techniques, types of mushrooms and walk through the process of making dye baths and dyeing the fiber. Julie will teach everyone about the lake making process which is a great way to extract pigment from the mushroom dye baths, and convert the pigment into a solution for painting and printing. Learn the process of lake making and techniques for storing and using the pigment. Play with mixing mushroom pigments and explore different ways to mix, bind and apply the paint with natural materials. Students will leave with fiber samples, mushroom pigment samples, a large hand-dyed silk scarf, and an instructional craftbook including mushroom dye recipes.

These workshops are only open to Los Angeles Mycological Society members. Become a member! It is an annual $25 fee and you will get access to their forays, newsletter and workshops. 

The morning workshop will be held from 10am-1pm and will focus on using mushrooms to create beautiful, vibrant dyes perfect for any natural fiber. In class we will cover general mushroom dye techniques, types of mushrooms and walk through the process of making dye baths and dyeing the fiber. Students will create a mushroom color chart featuring a myriad of colors from these forest friends on wool and silk fiber. The provided instructional craftbook will allow everyone to continue their exploration in more depth on their own at home.

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The afternoon workshop will be held from 2-5pm and will focus on extracting pigments from mushrooms to make paints and inks perfect for any artist. In class we will unlock the pigments of commonly found Southern California and West Coast dye mushrooms. We will cover the lake making process which is a great way to extract pigment from dye baths, and convert the pigment into a solution for painting and printing. Learn the process of making inks and play with mixing pigments into paints by exploring different ways to mix, bind and apply the pigment with natural materials. The provided instructional craftbook will allow everyone to continue their exploration in more depth on their own.

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Often forgotten in the realm of textiles, fungi has long been used as a natural dye, yielding some of nature's most vibrant colors! Learn to use mushrooms to create beautiful, vibrant dyes perfect for any natural fiber. Artist, farmer, and creator of the Mushroom Color Atlas Julie Beeler will guide students through various dye techniques as students explore the myriad of shades these forest friends offer us. Students will leave with wool fiber samples for the rainbow of colors they create, a large hand-dyed silk scarf, and an instructional craftbook including mushroom dye recipes. No previous experience necessary, though a fantastic workshop for practicing dyers.

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Curious about natural pigments? In this workshop, designer, artist, educator and flower farmer Julie Beeler, will teach a variety of techniques to extract pigments and transform them into inks and paints. You will play with organically grown botanical flowers and wild foraged mushrooms.

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Curious about fungi? Have a love of fiber? Combine your interests and learn how to use mushrooms to create beautiful, vibrant, and nontoxic dyes perfect for any natural fiber.

Artist and flower farmer, and mycophile, Julie Beeler will teach participants how to unlock the ‘tinctoria’ of three different, commonly found West Coast dye mushrooms. Students will dye a total of 6 mini skeins of locally raised Spring Coyote Ranch churro wool that can be used in a variety of projects from fingerless gloves to a cowl.

In class we will cover general mushroom dye techniques, types of mushrooms and walk through the process of making dye baths and dyeing the fiber. We will wrap up the class making a lake pigment with the dye baths and setting it up to strain, rinse and dry. The instructional craft-book will allow everyone to continue their exploration in more depth at their own pace.

Students should bring the following supplies:

• Apron if you want to protect your clothes

• Gloves if you want to protect your hands

Workshop Tuition: $120 which includes materials fee

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Curious about fungi? Have a love of fiber? Combine your interests and learn how to use mushrooms to create beautiful, vibrant, and nontoxic dyes perfect for any natural fiber.

This online Zoom workshop with Botanical Colors will take place on one Saturday, November 12, 2022. The workshop will be broken into two sessions. We will start at 9am Pacific and finish at 2:30pm Pacific. We will have 1 hour in between each session.

In this mushroom dye & pigment workshop I will teach you how to extract and unlock the mushrooms ‘tinctoria’ of common, easy to identify wild mushrooms. I will cover general mushroom dye techniques, types of mushrooms and walk through the process of making dye baths and dyeing the fiber. We will transform the mushroom dyes and explore the process of lake making to create mushroom pigments that can be used in a variety of forms ranging from water colors, crayons, pastels and paint. There will be Q&A about everything we covered in the class, discuss best practices for foraging, review a list of available resources and more.

The workshop includes a materials kit. It will include 4 different dye mushrooms, pre-mordanted fiber, supplies to make ‘lakes’ from your dye baths and an at home equipment list.

You will get the most out of the workshop if you are prepared and follow along doing the steps with me while at home. If you find that style is too fast paced you can follow along and then at your own leisure create your mushroom dyes and pigments. The Zoom recording of the workshop and online will be posted the same day. It will remain up for you to review for 90 days.

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I will be giving a live online demonstration with mushroom pigments, paints and inks with Art Tool Kit. Located in Port Townsend, WA they make expedition-proven tools for sketching and painting, for urban and wilderness adventures. Art Tool Kit believes that art can be not only a tool for self-expression, but for communication, exploration, and scientific inquiry. I couldn’t be more thrilled to talk about the interconnectedness of mushroom pigments to inspire people to connect with nature and create art anytime, anywhere, every day.

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Calling all you urban indigo growers! Whether you have a small pot of indigo growing on your porch or a larger plot in your garden, the opportunities are endless when working with fresh leaf indigo. Learn different techniques for creating a range of blues from light to dark on silk, wool and cotton fibers. We will make a variety of different indigo baths and vats, explore processes for mixing, binding and finishing indigo dyed pieces. Play with freshly extracted pigment to paint and print on fabric.

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