Lynn Corsi Bland: Stalking the Wild Mushroom

Mixed Media Artist

I work primarily in acrylics and collage.I use collage and beewax in my assemblage works and am now completing several shrines using found objects. I have been experimenting with encaustic collage and have found the medium very challenging. The paint is a combination of melted beeswax and pigment. A small amount of damar resin is added for hardness. I mix these paints myself and while painting all custom colors are mixed directly on a hot palette.

I will share my progress with this exciting medium with photos of work in progress and finished pieces.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Stalking the Wild Mushroom

On Saturday we did the most amazing class. It was the Smoky Mountain Field School Hike for collecting wild mushrooms. We went to the Greenbriar Area of the Smoky Mountain National Park.

Mushroom collecting is best in the Spring through Fall. Our instructor was Coleman McCleneghan PhD., and she led us on a journey through the tiny world of mycological fungi. As a rule collecting is not allowed in any national park situation, but because mushrooms are the fruiting body of the plant they are an exception to this. We had a most interesting day and were taught how to identify the mushroom by making a spore print. I loved this aspect (the artist in me) and can't wait to take this to another level and see what I can do with them. This is such an easy and rewarding project I will save it for another post.

Calocera Viscosa
Yellow tuning fork fungi

I do know this one! It's a Chanterelle, it's delicious to eat and I was the one to find it!

White Polypore

One day I'll know what the name of this is!

Cyathus
The common name is Bird's nest

Polypore

1 comment:

sailorman1814October 18, 2010 at 3:55 PM
Lynn, Glad to see you are becoming familiar with some of my mycological friends! Amazing, though, how many are just "little brown mushrooms"......
The foray sounds like a great time.....
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Artist Biography

Born in Daytona Beach, Florida, Lynn Corsi Bland, is an artist who works in a variety of media. Her Constructive Design degree is from Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida. Bland’s work is a combination of paint and wax with found objects to create unique compositions. It has been featured in numerous shows and group exhibitions including The Arrowmont School of Arts Biennial juried exhibition, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, The National Collage Society Annual Exhibitions, Hudson, Ohio, Jack Art Gallery Juried Encaustic Show, Atlanta, Georgia, The National Collage Society Postcard Show, New York, New York, The 2011 Sketchbook Project, Brooklyn, New York, Mason Maurer Fine Art, Atlanta, Georgia The Encaustic Art Institute Juried Show, Cerrilos, New Mexico. The work has received awards and been show cased in numerous magazine publications. Material Visions and Signatures are two books that have included the artist’s work. She holds the distinction of being a Signature Member of the National Collage Society. Living and working in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in the Great Smoky Mountains, gives the artist an abundance of inspiration to draw from.