The Mushroom Color Atlas

Discover the chromatic wonders of the fungi kingdom and the incredible spectrum of pigments and dyes that can be created from mushrooms.

More closely related to humans than they are to plants, fungi are fascinating organisms—and they are a rich resource for color collectors! Blending scientific detail, botanical illustrations, and creative inspiration, artist and educator Julie Beeler invites you to peek into her workroom as she introduces different types of dye mushrooms—from boletes to polypores to tooth fungi—and walks you through her color-harvesting process. Offering insightful tips on foraging and color distillation and a rainbow of color samples, Beeler peppers in down-to-earth advice on artistic experimentation and fascinating stories about the historical and personal connections between humans and nature, offering a fresh perspective on the magical world of mushrooms.

This guide will take you on a vibrant journey through identifying and collecting dye mushrooms to distilling an astonishing range of colors from each one. The five hundred color swatches included in these pages showcase an astounding array of natural dyes and pigments made from mushrooms.

The Mushroom Color Atlas combines step-by-step instructions for hands-on color creation with impressive hues and eye-catching palettes. Whether you're a working designer or an emerging artist, a full-time forager or an armchair mycologist, you will find something to love in this unique exploration of science and color.

The rewarding hands-on experience of working with mushroom dyes and pigments is a powerful way to feel intimately connected to nature. Beeler invites readers to forge their own creative connection to the natural world, offering advice on ethical foraging, artistic experimentation, and the abundant possibilities afforded to us by the small but mighty mushroom.

Hardcover. 288 pages.

About the Author

Julie Beeler is an acclaimed designer, artist, and educator inspired by the natural world. Her work has been featured by The New York Times, Popular Science, The Smithsonian Institution, and The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, among others. After a twenty-year career at the vanguard of interactive design, Beeler founded Bloom & Dye, a natural dye studio and farm in the Pacific Northwest ideally situated for foraging mushrooms and growing fresh-cut color. She can be found online at juliebeeler.com.

Yuli Gates is a multidisciplinary artist with experience in photography, illustrations, relief printing, embroidery, graphic design, and more. She is based in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, in the UK.