Ganoderma Applanatum (Fungi)

This project engages with the hard shelf mushroom, Ganoderma applanatum. In the Pacific Northwest, this type of hard mushroom may live as long as 30 years and span thirty-six inches in diameter. They sprout on the sides of trees in a horizontal manner.

Each of these fungi projects requires daily care, attention and adjustment.  For example, there are particular beetles that feed on this fungi and in the process may mar it. They have to be removed by hand.  From my recent observation, there also appears to be a cycle in the Ganoderma’s fruiting and growth; perhaps due to vagaries in mean precipitation and or timing of spore and mycelium development . 

It’s interesting to note the difference in perception and energy of a piece that exists in its natural outdoor environment (where it is created and grows), and the same piece once it is cut away, brought indoors and framed.