In terms of the subject matter of my work, I have fallen in love with mushrooms and how magical they are over the past year. I have been illustrating mushrooms, sculpting mushrooms, foraging for mushrooms locally, making mushroom paper and engaging in all things mushroom arts and crafts related, continually expanding on the mushroom madness!

The artwork produced for the Art Trail continues this fascination in the form of a mural that wraps around the side of the building which is the home of Purple Shoots. The mural also features three-dimensional, ceramic mushrooms made by the community of Pontypridd in workshops I have facilitated recently at Purple Shoots. 

But why mushrooms? My ambition is to raise awareness of how mushrooms benefit our ecosystem in a myriad of ways, and how I believe they have the potential to save the world! During the workshops, the participants and I discussed how, for example, mushrooms have been proven to be beneficial for honeybees, making them stronger and better pollinators. We also discussed how scientists have discovered a mushroom that actually eats plastic and could even help clear landfill! Mushrooms are simply incredible, and it was such an enjoyable experience to engage in a collaborative learning experience with the participants at Purple Shoots.

When visiting the mural, you can scan the QR Code provided using a smartphone in order to listen to a brief audio-description of the mural in addition to recordings of discussions with participants during the workshops to find out even more from the people of Pontypridd about how mushrooms can save the world!  

With special thanks to Purple Shoots