Ready to dive into the magical world of fungi and natural color? Join me as I take you on a vibrant journey through the fungi kingdom during her demonstration on Sunday, December 15 @ 3pm. You will learn how to unlock the mesmerizing hues from wild mushrooms and transform them into pigments, paints and inks.

I am honored to have the Mushroom Color Atlas archive of three hundred colors exhibited in World Without End: The George Washington Carver Project at the California African American Museum as part of the Getty’s PST ART: Art & Science Collide initiative.

George Washington Carver was a pioneer of plant-based engineering and one of the nation’s earliest proponents of sustainable agriculture. In the early 1900s, he built his “Jesup Wagon,” a moveable school to share soil and plant samples, equipment, and other agricultural knowledge with farmers. Carver’s then-radical ideas—including organic fertilizers, crop rotation, and plant-based medicines and construction materials—are now recognized as the forerunners of modern conservation. A trained and practicing artist, Carver used sustainable materials such as peanut- and clay-derived dyes and paints in his many weavings and still-life paintings. World Without End explores how contemporary artists and scientists working today engage with Carver’s ideas and interests. Alongside contemporary artworks, the exhibition includes Carver’s rarely seen paintings, laboratory equipment, and notebooks. Both the exhibition and its catalogue, which includes previously unpublished material documenting Carver’s life and work at Tuskegee University, will reframe and center Carver’s lasting impact on art and science.

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Discover the chromatic wonders of the fungi kingdom and the incredible spectrum of pigments and dyes that can be created from mushrooms. More closely related to humans than they are to plants, fungi are fascinating organisms — and they are a rich resource for color collectors! Blending scientific detail, botanical illustrations, and creative inspiration, artist and educator Julie Beeler invites you to peek into her workroom as she introduces different types of dye mushrooms — from boletes to polypores to tooth fungi — and walks you through her color-harvesting process. Offering insightful tips on foraging and color distillation and a rainbow of color samples, The Mushroom Color Atlas (Chronicle Books) peppers in down-to-earth advice on artistic experimentation and fascinating stories about the historical and personal connections between humans and nature, offering a fresh perspective on the magical world of mushrooms. Beeler will be joined in conversation by Stephanie Parrish, Director of Learning and Community Partnerships at the Portland Art Museum.

Ready to dive into the magical world of colors created by fungi? Whether you are enchanted by the beauty of wild mushrooms or fascinated by the art of natural dyes, this presentation offers the perfect blend of science, creativity, and hands-on exploration. Join me to tap into colors hidden in nature's most surprising places! My new book, The Mushroom Color Atlas, is equal parts art book, field guide, and color distillation workshop. Illustrated by Yuli Gates, it is a comprehensive primer on the universe of colors lurking inside fungi. In an era when we are increasingly reliant on technology and corporate consumer goods, creating colorants from mushrooms feels like a radical act. Imagine imbuing your world with radiant colors from mushrooms, working hands-on with the fruits of the fungi kingdom, being in harmony with your region’s ecology and helping transform the dye, textile, and fashion industry. Join us to share in the kaleidoscopic wonder of the fungi kingdom.

5pm PST/7pm CST

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Join me for this jam-packed 1-day workshop at Wildcraft Studio School in Portland and learn to use mushrooms to create vibrant dyes, pigments, paints and inks! Beginning with an overview of easy to identify wild mushrooms, I will walk students through the basics of mushroom dye techniques, mordanting, making dye baths and  dyeing fibers. The dye baths will then be used in the process of lake-making, to extract mushroom pigments that can be used in a variety of forms. Play with turning mushroom pigments into inks – exploring different ways to mix, bind and apply the pigment with natural materials. Students will learn ways to store and use their pigments and everyone will leave with a mushroom color chart of dyed wool fibers, a mini accordion book to record and capture pigment colors, and an instructional craftbook including mushroom pigment and dye recipes. 

Photo by Micah Fischer courtesy of WildCraft Studio School.

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Hope you can join us at the closing event of my show, Take Root, at SATOR Projects on Saturday, November 2 from 5-7pm. I will be in conversation with Wildcraft Studio School founder, Chelsea Heffner, discussing my work at the intersection of art and nature. 

On view Saturdays 12-4pm or by appointment from September 7 through November 2, 2024.

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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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