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These
Australian Symposium pages, on the Art of Mushroom Dyeing Website,
are the result of efforts of many individuals especially the staff of Green Skills who also had provided Bobi Ward, an attendee from
Australia, with the camera, film and equipment to produce the many photos
of the Symposium which you see here. Other attendees who generously
contributed photos are otherwise noted. The project was funded in part by
a grant from the International
Mushroom Dye Institute to
the coordinators of the Symposium who, with Katrina Syme, expressed their desire to invest the
funds into the making of this Web Site.
It began as a
vehicle to substitute for the Show and Tell conclusion part of the
Symposium which in the end, we did not have the time to have.
At that time each workshop leader would have taken about 10
minutes, to review their workshop and show the work created in it.
Synopses by the workshop leaders would have been made available to all of
the attendees. So now we have a virtual Show and Tell to share with
you and many of those workshop synopses. It is a site that will be
continually changing and updated as we add new photos and material from
the busy workshop leaders and the Symposium staff.
I accept all responsibilities for errors or mis-information and
would appreciate hearing about any desired changes or corrections
ASAP! Lastly, I would like to thank my Web Master, Debby
Turner from Web Turner Consulting, for being so incredibly patient with my many and continual
revisions!
Dorothy
Beebee , USA
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INSPIRATION |
Inspired
by Miriam C. Rices first little book, "Lets Try Mushrooms
for Color" (Thresh Publications, 1974) fiber
artists around the world began adding mushroom dyes to their palettes of
natural dyes. In order to share and exchange information and exhibit their
new mushroom dyed fibre arts, in 1980, The 1st International Mushroom
Dye Exhibit was held in Mendocino, California which coincided with
the publication of Miriams second book,
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Mushrooms
for Color (Mad River Press, 1980,).
Every two years
since then, textile and fiber artists have gathered from all over the
world to exhibit their mushroom dyed works of fiber art, exchange new
ideas and teach workshops in dyes, paper-making and pigments made from
fungi.
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These exhibits and symposia came to be known as the International
Fungi and Fibre
Federation and are hosted by different groups of textile
artists around the world. Over the years, many Australian fibre
artists have been attending the symposia, traversing long distances to the
Northern Hemisphere, so now they were excited to be able to have a turn to
host this event for the first time down in the Southern Hemisphere! |
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12-18TH
JULY, 2003 |
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DENMARK
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE |
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~ DENMARK ~ WESTERN AUSTRALIA |
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by Katrina Syme,
Australia |
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This is the first
time this biennial international symposium was hosted in the Southern
Hemisphere. It provided an excellent opportunity for Australian textile
artists to explore a little-used source for natural dyes and hand-made
paper. The week included a range of workshops, field trips collecting and
identifying fungi in |
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different ecosystems, an exhibition of fungi-dyed
textiles and paper made from fungi, presentation of new findings and talks
and displays from representative countries. There was also an open
discussion on conservation issues surrounding the worlds fungal
biodiversity. |
photo by Bobi Ward (Green
Skills)
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FUNGI IN
WESTERN AUSTRALIA |
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Western Australias
vascular plant flora is well documented, with |
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photo by Dorothy Beebee (USA)
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531,000 specimens representing 13,500 species held in the Western Australian Herbarium, Perth. In contrast, however, the fungi (whose numbers are variously estimated to be 7-10 times more than plant numbers) are represented by a mere 7,008 specimens. |
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An example of
Australian vast fungal diversity was given during the Inaugural
Fungimap Conference, held in Denmark in 2001 last year by Dr. Teresa
Lebel (Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne), who said: In all of Europe
there are approximately 50 genera and 150 species of truffles. |
photo by
Carol Lee, ( USA)
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In Australia there are 85 genera described with some 300 species. Based on the rate at which we are finding new taxa during recent surveys, the
predicted numbers are closer to 110 genera and 900 species. |
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Fungi work
conducted by us since 1991 is aimed at answering questions such as: the
scale and patterns of distribution; factors determining the limits of
distribution; habitat and substrate preference; are exotic species
spreading into native forests?; the timing of the appearance of each
species and what factors might affect this, and which species are managing
to survive in remnant vegetation? |
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Mushroom
Dyes go "Down Under"
by Dorothy Beebee |
On July 12, 2003, the 11th International Fungi &
Fibre Symposium & Exhibition convened for one week, in the
charming village of Denmark, in Western Australia. The location for the Symposium in Denmark, W.A. was the very modern and comfortable 4 year old
campus of the Western
Australia College of Agriculture. This
Symposium was organized under the creative leadership of a well-known
Australian botanical artist, Katrina Syme, and the able coordination of
Jessie MacIver, with the collaboration of the community non-profit
organization of Green
Skills Inc. |
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Since only about 15% of the
Fungi of Australia have been discovered, classified, and named, the
amazing diversity of this Australian venue provided exciting opportunities
for many mushroom dyers of the of the Northern climes to work with
entirely new fungal species for their dyes. No mushrooms were allowed to
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brought into Australia, and none were allowed to be taken out of the
country without
a special research permit obtained from the Department of Conservation and
Land Management. Swatches of cotton fabric, wool, and silk yarns were used to dye
rich browns, brilliant reds, vivid pinks, vibrant oranges, sunny yellows,
shimmering golds, dark forest greens, and even some sky blue yarns could
be found drying and waving outside the classrooms in the variable sun,
rain and winds of the mild Australian winter.
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photo by Kirsti Palmén, (FINLAND)
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Fiber artists traveled to the 11th Fibre & Fungi Symposium from all across the Australian
continent as well as from the countries of Denmark, England, Finland,
Norway, Scotland, Sweden, and USA. Many of these fiber artists have been
attending these biennial symposia for over 20 years! Certainly one of the
highlights of the Symposium was in the reunion with old friends met at
previous Symposia!!! |
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photo by Bobi Ward
(Green
Skills)
Group
photo of the attendees of the 11th Fibre & Fungi Symposium |
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The
11th IFFS 2003 Australian Committee consisted of Katrina Syme, Elizabeth Wood, Jennifer Barter, Peggy Buckingham,
Jessie MacIver (Symposium coordinator), Garth Wilson, Mavis Sowry and Bev
Farrall, who were introduced by MC Louise Duxbury. Acknowledgment was made to the many Australian supporters and
sponsors, including the Ian Potter Foundation, the Shire of Denmark, and
the Perth Convention Bureau, in addition to all the innumerable helpers in
Australia
and from abroad. |
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The Symposium was formally opened by the Honorable Dr.
Judy Edwards, Western Australian Minister for the Environment, and the
President of Denmark Shire, Kim Barrow.
Following morning tea, lectures were given by CEO of Kings Park and Botanic Gardens, Perth, Dr. Stephen Hopper on the Biodiversity of
Western Australia and its relictual Gondwanan species, and then Dr.
Richard Robinson introduced us to the amazing diversity of Fungi from
SW of Western Australia, some of which we were going to use for dyes
and paper-making.
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photo by Andreya Marks, (USA)
The
Honorable Dr. Judy Edwards, Western Australian Minister for the
Environment, and the President of Denmark Shire, Kim Barrow.
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photo by Bobi Ward
(Green
Skills)
Dr.
Stephen Hopper explained the biodiversity of Western Australia.
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photo by Dr. Richard Robinson (Australia)
Dr.
Richard Robinson holding
Ganoderma applanatum |
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The circle design
was made using Mushroom paints and Myco-Stix developed by Miriam C. Rice .
© by Dorothy Beebee |
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Last updated
10/23/2003 7:40 PM
Pacific Time
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