Mushrooms: Catching up with Sarah Thompson
On January 25th I received a message from my professor and mentor at Old Dominion University: “Please give me a call when you can. Thanks.” Curious, I called right away. After pleasantries, he informed me that Norfolk Botanical Garden had reached out to him in search of an artist who could create three rather large mushroom sculptures for their “Funky Fungi” exhibit this summer. He had gaven them my name and told me to expect to hear from them soon. Within a few days they contacted me requesting that I submit a proposal for the creation of three realistic Fly Agaric mushroom sculptures of various sizes to represent the fungi’s stages of growth. The largest mushroom was to be seven feet tall. How exciting! This was just the project I needed to break me out of my post-graduation funk- It had been months since I created anything much more than an imprint on the couch cushions. I spent the next week researching materials and methods. By February 10th my proposal was submitted and I anxiously awaited their decision. On February 20th I received the call- my proposal was accepted! My first commission! I got to work right away ordering materials and tools. The deadline for install was May 31st and there was no time to waste.
I chose hypertuffa as my main medium. It’s a concrete-like concoction made from cement, perlite, and peat moss. It’s not as strong and durable as concrete, but it’s significantly lighter- a bonus when working large. In addition- I find it poetic to use garden materials to create garden sculptures. The core of the mushrooms is carved from extruded polystyrene with a plumbing pipe armature for added strength. Getting the mushroom tops the perfect color of red was a challenge. I wanted to avoid using straight acrylic paint because the hypertuffa wasn’t fully cured and this could lead to problems and I’m not fond of the plastic-like texture. After some experimenting and research I found that mixing sand and cement with concrete bonding agent and red paint made a very strong and durable stucco-like material. The stems are coated with a mixture made from white cement, white paint, and acrylic concrete bonding agent.
This was my first time working with these materials and the learning curve was steep. I layered chicken wire over the EPS for added strength and adhesion before coating it with hypertuffa, but it was insufficient and all three suffered stress cracks from their size and top-heaviness. I reinforced the stems with rebar, rewrapped with chicken wire, and recoated with hypertuffa. While this made the sculptures stronger, it also significantly increased their weight. My biggest setback occurred when the pipe armature for the base of the large mushroom snapped. The damage was irreparable. I was gutted. By this time the deadline was looming large and I began to question whether or not I’d ever get the seven foot monster of a mushroom vertical and stable enough for installation.
It took me two weeks and three attempts to construct a base that I felt confident in. After the pieces were safely transported and installed, my professor asked me if it was worth it...
Yes. Absolutely. One hundred percent no regrets, but it’s going to be a while before I take on another big commission.
