Category: Course Blog

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In order to understand the process through which I went we have to go on a journey that starts somewhere in September. It was back then when during the first week we discovered that our next project, which was to last 3 months, will be exploring synthetic biology. It might seem odd to do biology […]

Barriers between design practitioners and scientific researchers have blurred in recent decades – particularly within the commercial application of scientific developments – but it’s still important to acknowledge that it’s quite obvious that i’m not a practising scientist, and most scientists don’t make embracing design their prime objective. Context is everything – current projects struggle […]

Research and Precedent Designs Beginning this project on designing with living material, I was tasked to choose an organism to research on. I recall learning about the basic functions yeast undergo and how it is applied to food production in GCSE Science, and wanted to learn more about yeast. Yeast is a microorganism that is […]

Making mycelium material Context Transactions began with a very limited understanding of what microorganisms were and their potential within the field of art and design. Over the past two years I have heard of many projects involving the design of living things such as 3D printing mushroom canapés (C.Rutzerveld, 2014) and growing bacterial cellulose into […]

Using the refined method of experimentation the new tests worked! Below is a picture of tests three (B) and four where the mycelium was left to grow in substrates including cardboard, cotton calico and dead leaves. In one test I left the mycelium spawn to grow in between layers of bubble wrap to see how […]

The outcomes from the first tests worked…but not particularly well.  Mould grew on my first mycelium tests and didn’t have a particular structure in the sealed plastic bags. It was time to speak to a professional. After searching high and low I found Dr Patrick Hickey, based at Summerhall, he completed his PhD in Mycology […]

When me and Joanna met with Rebecca Yahr at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh in the beginning of October she showed us many different things that all had fungi in common. The one thing that spoke to me the most was the samples of yarn that had been dyed with mushrooms. I had seen […]

Foraging for mushrooms around Edinburgh I found various types of honey fungus (armillaria), petticoat mottlegill (Panaeolus papilionaceus ) and turf mottlegill (Panaeolus fimicola). Having also bought mushrooms from local shops as well as supermarket chains, I had a collection of eight different types of mushrooms (including varying location of source).  I had three different mediums in which the […]