MyCo MyDecor

In the age of sites like Pinterest [30] and Instructables [43], it is easier than ever to start a ‘Do It Yourself’ home decor project. Successfully making something for your home is not only rewarding but also acts as a form of self-expression and reflection. It is also just plain fun! While wood, paint, clay, and resin are popular materials amongst DIY-ers, we propose mycelium as the more sustainable option. Unlike materials such as resin [5] or modeling clay [1], mycelium is both bio-based (sustainable materials that consume carbon dioxide while alive) and biodegradable (disintegrates or breaks down naturally into biogases and biomass) [32].

On top of meeting typical craft material requirements, such as shape-ability and ease of use, mycelium’s uniqueness as a living material adds artistic value, and leads to

improvisation, or improvising on the creative methods of making based on this uniqueness. Because mycelium is a living thing, there is only so much that the artist can control. However, rather than a constraint, this uncertainty in control can lead to imaginative solutions, thus introducing natural shapes, colors, and other intricacies novel to each individual piece.

While most of our mycelium products have more of a functional purpose, we believed it was equally important to explore how mycelium could be used as an artistic medium due to its natural aesthetic beauty. To demonstrate this, we chose to create a delicate hanging piece of wall art in the shape of a moon, based on both popular DIY home decor ideas and mycelium’s natural colors. This piece opens up a discussion of how mycelium can be utilized for DIY and design practices for everyday self-expression for everyone in a novel, improvisation way. All while doing it sustainably.