Through My Eyes- The Fungus Among Us

Here are some fungus that inspired me over the last week and some handmade Etsy items that I imagine could be inspired by the photo (disclaimer: I don't actually know what inspired these items, but I am just illustrating how you can take some of the characteristics of the mushrooms/fungus and how they could be translated into art). I tried to find items that didn't scream "Mushroom" to help illustrate how you can use more abstract ideas to find inspiration. Sorry this is kind of a long post, but it's mostly pictures, so hang in there and scroll down to see it in it's entirety. All of the mushroom/fungus photos were taken by me.

I can see the mushroom gills in this beautiful brooch by Tinctory.etsy. The shape, colors and texture are a perfect representation of the mushroom half pictured above.


This one inspired me to think about the mushrooms as a family in their log home. The closeness of the mushrooms and the way they tend to group together inspired me to create the series of pen drawings which I colored digitally. Now while I did use actual mushrooms in the drawings, the real inspiration was the thoughts of closeness and family. I broadened the idea into a set of mushroom illustrations depicting different types of families.

Here's a very cool micro sculpture by elementclaystudio.etsy that could have been inspired by the closeness of mushrooms/fungus. I love the way she interpreted it into a sphere and kept it a simple white. Again taking the idea and even the shape of a mushroom, but expanding on it.



The photo above immediately made me think about frills. I wonder if they inspired the first frills. Here is a fantastic clutch by ElenaMakesThings.etsy. The frill is a lovely translation of a single fungi using the wavy shape and the lovely color gradation.



This brooch by kjoo.etsy could easily have been inspired by the fungus above. Although the colors are very different, you could see the inspiration through the lovely shape and the layers. It really has a wonderfully organic feel.


These wonderful podlike fungi are crazy inspiring to me. These lovely stacking rings by erinbowe.etsy when put together, remind me of the way the fungi is arranged. While the spheres are not uniform, the differences in texture add a lot of interest and an organic feel. The dark patina of the rings is also reminiscent of the log that serves as home for the fungus.



How will these fungi inspire you. Remember to look beyond the obvious. Please feel free to link to items inspired by mushrooms, fungi or any of the photos in this post!