Shiitake Mushroom Log Sculptures

A Shittake Mushroom Log Sculpture is an art work made with logs, inoculated with Shiitake spawn. So the logs are being collonized and consumed by the fungi during the life of the piece- usually a few years. The logs are sustainabley harvested at my studio near Seagrove, NC, or from the site of the installation.


The word "Shiitake" in Japanese characters called Kanji. 'Shii' is the type of wood that they grow on in the wild and 'take' means mushroom.  

(Shii aka Castanopsis cuspidata--> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castanopsis_cuspidata)

Ode to the last flight of the Space Shuttle: a block of stacked logs make up the launch pad, the 2 boosters to the left and right, the large booster is in center back and the highest part is the shuttle.
Re-bar is used to make the shape of the nosecones, wing/fins and engine exhaust.


In the background is the welcome center at SCC
(Sandhills Community College located in Pinehurst, NC)

more pictures of these art works here

Grasshoppers, Ants and the Arts:

My son is 4'4" tall to give you scale.

In the traditional fable, The Grasshopper and the Ant, the music of the grasshopper is unappreciated for the practical. In my world, the ant would regularly offer some grain for the pleasure of a tune.

To showcase the medium, the forms I have created are of a minimalist nature.These logs have been inoculated with Shiitake Mushrooms. The live mushrooms are colonizing the logs, and will slowly "ingest" it. This fall, and for many seasons after, it will sprout delicious and healthful edibles. This process allows my work to be uniquely functional. (You can have your sculpture and eat it too.) The wood is sustainabley harvested sweet gum, and the structure should maintain it's integrity for a couple of years. After that it can be disassembled and stacked in a shady spot,and the logs will continue to sprout mushrooms for several more years.
I am very proud to say that my piece, Grasshoppers, Ants and the Arts, won Peoples Choice (2012 Art in the Garden show).

    Click for a Video Explanation of work 

below are some more views - click on any pic for slide show of all

set up in the dark @ ...

... SCC Horticultural Gardens 

                                                     Ant head close-up

Grasshopper head close-up

from back looking up at SCC Visitor Center

guitar and grain 'ear' close-up

setting up @ new home @ ...

 ... Blue Hen Pottery

in Seagrove, NC

...and check out more pictures of this sculpture on my Picasa Web Albums

2019

Spider 
at Sculpture in the Garden 
North Carolina Botanical Garden

UNC@Chapel Hill

To live and thrive, 
let the spider run alive.

This sculpture was also shown at the 34th Annual Sculpture Celebration in Lenoir, NC, at the Broyhill Walking Park.