Image of the Week: Mushroom Mural
© D. Yael Bernhard
Last month I was commissioned to paint a mural – a rare opportunity, with just two weeks to do it – of mushrooms. The project popped up and fruited into form as quickly as a mushroom after a summer rain, as six giant fungi took shape on the walls of the Catskill Fungi kitchen in Big Indian, NY.
Besides being an artist and a
writer, I also work part-time for Catskill Fungi, foraging wild mushrooms and helping to make medicinal extracts, assisting at mushroom walks and workshops, writing newsletters and shipping extracts ordered through CatskillFungi.com. As surely as mushroom mycelium penetrates every square inch of soil under our feet, the fascinating world of fungi has begun to penetrate my mind – and my art.
Pictured above and scaled up to 3 feet wide are Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus) and Maitake (Grifola frondosa) – two fungi that are made into valuable health extracts within the walls upon which the mural is painted. Catskill Fungi founder and owner John Michelotti wanted some color in the kitchen! I was delighted to take on the project.
Each mushroom is painted to appear as if it's growing out of a window frame. Each has a unique structure, colors, and shapes. Lion's Mane has icicle-like formations that grow downward, bearing spores – while Maitake is a polypore, with many petal-like lobes in a frilly mass that resembles coral. I got lost in Maitake's sensual forms, which slipped out of my brush almost effortlessly. Brown, beige, and lavender blended beautifully together in this lovely fungus. Studies have shown Lion's Mane extract stimulates the production of nerve growth factor (NGF) and if taken regularly, may benefit the nervous and digestive systems. Maitake's unique polysaccharide compounds may have positive effects on blood sugar, immunity, and reproductive health.
The second window is flanked by Reishi (Ganoderma tsugae) and Chaga (Inonotus obliquus). Catskill Mountain forests provide ideal habitat for these fungi, with Reishi, a "shelf" mushroom, growing on eastern hemlock; and Chaga – a non-fruiting fungal "conk" – drawing precious betulins from the wood of the birch tree. Known as the "mushroom of immortality," Reishi has been the subject of ancient Chinese folklore and modern scientific studies on its numerous health benefits, especially for the cardiovascular system. Chaga is used as a common folk medicine for cancer, inflammation, and skin and stomach ailments throughout Russia.
Both culinary and medicinal mushrooms are considered adaptogenic – meaning they confer gradual, cumulative change and have a normalizing effect on systems of the body – and all support the immune system. This is true even of common supermarket mushrooms – but wild mushrooms, like plants, are more robust and richer in minerals, enzymes, and beneficial compounds. There's no substitute for nature's original, complex and intricate forms, which our bodies are designed to interact with at a cellular level.
I painted the mural in acrylics on a long wall that was already painted white. While I worked, I listened to Mushroom Revival, a fascinating podcast about the science and technology of mushrooms – from mycoremediation (using mushrooms to neutralize toxic waste such as oil spills) to mycomedicines to mycofibers that may soon begin to replace synthetic petroleum-based products. I learned how ergosterols – the fungal equivalent of cholesterol in animals – can efficiently hyperaccumulate vitamin D from the sun, just as the cholesterol in our skin is able to form cholecalciferol, the precursor of natural vitamin D. Give your mushrooms a sunbath before you cook them! It's one of the best food sources of vitamin D.
The third window sports Turkey tail (Trametes versicolor) and Cordyceps (Cordyceps militaris) – two lesser-known but very important fungi. Turkey tail is one of the most common and studied mushrooms in the world, appearing in many varieties of color and growing on all kinds of dead or decaying wood. Turkey tail extracts are widely used in Asia as an anti-cancer medicine that works in conjunction with conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation, helping to potentiate their positive effects and reduce negative side effects. Cordyceps is a rising star in the world of mycology, known for its super-oxygenating, energy-boosting compounds and its ability to support cellular health. This strange "zombie fungus" grows from the head of a larva! – usually a moth pupa, but in recent times it's cultivated on grain substrates in laboratories.
I see no contradiction between science and art. As an illustrator, I've learned to embrace all kinds of subject matter. I always learn something new along the way – but this is different. There's something special about fungi. Apart from the visible attributes of mushrooms in all their mind-boggling diversity (there are more species of fungi on earth than all plants and animals combined), the conceptual effect of these vital life forms is also mind-expanding. For mycelium is nothing less than the living substance of the intricate web that makes up an ecosystem. As the "body" of a fungus that yields a mushroom "fruit" under the right conditions, mycelium is the nervous system of soil that connects plants and trees to each other, growing into roots and translocating vital nutrients and enzymatic messages. Mushrooms release millions of spores into every breath we take, and decay dead wood all over our planet so that new life can grow. They provide food and medicine for insects, animals, plants, trees, and humans. They might even have the power to save bees, by protecting them against parasites and diseases that are decimating bee populations. The entire plant and insect kingdoms are dependent on fungi for survival – and so, by extension, are we.
Thank you, fungal friends! And thanks to John Michelotti for the unique opportunity to paint a giant mushroom mural. It was more fun than a barrel of boletes.
Note: if you want to research medicinal mushrooms or adaptogens, I recommend searching for studies on platforms such as PubMed or Google Scholar, not by using a regular browser search engine, where false and biased information abounds. There are many excellent books on the subject of mycology as well. You can also join the Catskill Fungi mailing list (scroll down here to sign up) for news and announcements about opportunities to learn about mushrooms.
A good week to all – I'll be out in the woods foraging!
