Submitted by Naomi Macione.
Julie Beeler is a scientist, a forager, a very precise technician, a teacher, and a talented fabric artist. She lives up in Washington State, near Trout Lake, and can often be found out in the wilderness with her beautiful mushroom basket, and sweet dog by her side seeking out the very mundane, and very exotic mushrooms nearby, to attain the perfect fabric dyes. She appears as comfortable in her home working on her projects, as she does when foraging in Gifford Pinchot National Forest up near Mt. Adams.
This button below provides a very informative article from Oregon Public Broadcasting, along with a short captivating video that allows you to wander along with Julie out in the woods and experience her passion and excitement about her work. She provides very clear demonstrations of her technique, and the creation of liquid ink dyes, dry pigments, and watercolors. She shows the impact of the dyes on a variety of fabrics and provides an accessible and unique type of color wheel: A Chromatic Guide to the Fungi Kingdom.
My ten-year-old grand-daughter was as interested in the film, as were my adult family members. Julie’s textile pieces often depict landscapes above and below ground. They are extremely lovely and are hand-dyed, hand-stitched, appliqued, and embroidered.
I look forward to hearing your responses. Enjoy!
I wish there was time to do EVERYTHING!
What a great article! It so illustrated and reinforced the underground world of roots and communication that we are so unaware of. A great read on the world under our feet is The Overstory by Richard Powers. The colors that emerged from cooking those fungi were amazing! Maybe a mini-workshop idea????? Thank you for sharing!
I loved this article! Makes me want to go on a hike with new eyes.
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing this information. I can’t explain it, but when I look at the colors on the color wheel, they seem very calming. Does anyone else get this feeling?
I definitely do. To me, they resemble the colors of the forest and I love being in a forest. It’s good for the soul.
Interesting, Thanks for sharing. Love her home.
Very interesting article and video.
So glad this OPB article was shared as I missed it on Art Beat. Julie Beeler is indeed a scientist and artist. What a beautiful landscape her home and art studio sits! Thank you for getting the story on MPS’s website.