design research studying mycelium textile composites

this design research project studied mycelium’s animacy and preferred growth conditions on textile knits and wovens. our project's larger impact looks at how mycelium could further be used tackle textile waste. the MycoTextiles artifact is grown in collaboration with Pleurotus Ostreatus, Oyster Mushroom. the mycelium displays its own animacy by selecting its preference of fiber type and textile structure, leaving an abstracted representation. the mycelium was grown in a liquid culture and honey is used as a nutrient. the quilt design was based on initial experiments. made in collaboration with Leah Hughes, Romily Rinck and Amir Weirtheimer and exhibited at the Ecogen Collective exhibit in May 2022.