"Crafting Connections – A Fungal Approach" presented in the "New Genre Arctic Art Education" website
The project "Crafting Connections – A Fungal Approach" explores fungi as both a metaphor and a method for collective learning and making. Inspired by Let’s Become Fungal (Ostendorf-Rodríguez, 2023), the project uses mycelium not only as a biological system but also as a way of thinking and teaching — one that grows through connection, curiosity, and care rather than hierarchy.
Based in Umeå, Sweden, and part of Lessons of the Land, the project brought together participants aged 9 to 72 to create shared spaces for learning and making. A series of workshops was held by Lotta Lundstedt and Sara Rylander, Umeå University during September and October 2025.
Across five gatherings, the group explored fungi through observation, conversation, and making. The first workshop took place outdoors in the forest, where participants shared a meal around the fire and exchanged experiences and knowledge about both the place and the fungi. They also collected mushrooms and later observed them through microscopes, discovering details invisible to the naked eye.
In the following sessions, the group worked with clay and glaze to create ceramic and wooden forms inspired by fungi — exploring texture, color, and organic growth patterns. Participants also experimented with natural dyes derived from fungi and shared the sensory experience of tasting mushroom tea. Each meeting began with a shared meal that invited conversation and trust, allowing the process to unfold openly, without pressure or predetermined outcomes.
Through Crafting Connections – A Fungal Approach, crafting became a way of connecting humans, materials, and place. The project highlights how shared making and collective processes can foster connection — between people, materials, and the environment — through curiosity, care, and time.
The project is part of the activities of the UArctic Thematic Network on Arctic Sustainable Arts and Design (ASAD).