It's been a crazy few weeks with little time for art and experimentation. I took photos of some fly agaric mushrooms (Amanita muscaria) that I recently found in local woods and I've been mulling over what to do with them. I'm drawn to these brightly coloured fungi; there's something so exotic about their luscious, bright red-and-white spotted caps. But they come with an air of danger too - they're hallucinogenic, and this made me think of some kind of manipulation technique.
The textile designer, Lucienne Day liked to cut up coloured pieces of paper to create abstract images so this seemed like a good place to start. I have long admired her work, especially her ability to reduce a botanical drawing to its simplest form.
I trimmed my photo to isolate the red cap of the fungus and then continued to cut it into 1cm strips. I used the remaining trimmings to make similar strips that I wove in a warp direction.
Although simple, the weave pattern acts as a view-finder for different parts of the image. I noticed that the spots are not at all symmetrical; they have ragged edges and appear to be bursting through the bright red cap. The whole effect is distorted and perhaps this would be a view of the world if you were to try eating one of these fairy toadstools. I think I'll keep them safely on paper!
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