maiShrooms Collection

My latest collection is called maiShrooms. The original art is done with oil pastels on paper. The images are then photographed and then transposed onto wood, cloth, and plastic products. 

The origin of maiShrooms has evolved over many years. I have hated mushrooms since childhood. I remember tasting a mushroom and the texture was slimy and unappetizing, so I avoided eating them at all costs because I thought they were disgusting!

Several years ago, I was working with an acupuncturist who just couldn’t understand my hatred for mushrooms. She gave me an assignment to draw a mushroom just to become more friendly toward them. I hesitantly agreed to this assignment dreading that I had committed to something so ridiculous. To my surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the experience. I didn’t try to draw something that was realistic, rather letting colors, shapes, and textures evolve. I loved the feel of the oil crayons against the paper and how I could play with the colors to create something new and surprising. I absolutely loved every moment of that experience. 

Having had this positive experience, I gave into the idea that I could try tasting a mushroom again keeping my mind open that this was a new experience. My husband jokes that I just never had a good mushroom and that he would make sure that it was cooked well before my taste test. Well, to my utter surprise, he delivered on this task. I enjoyed the mushrooms he cooked and now eat them every day. Who would have ever thought that was a possibility!

Then in September 2024, I was diagnosed with a degenerative eye condition (macular telangiectasia) that leads to losing one’s central vision. As I leaned into the idea that I possibly could lose my eyesight I started exploring alternative ways to extend my sight for as long as possible. One of the ways was taking long walks and be aware of what I was seeing and be grateful for my sight. I also decided to make art a daily practice so that I had a way to express what I was feeling and having a way to move those feelings in a healthy way.

On one of my walks, I noticed that a neighbor had pink glass mushrooms on their porch. I thought they were fun and whimsical. It immediately brought me back to my memory of drawing a mushroom for my acupuncture assignment. I remembered the joy that I experienced and thought why not try it again. I couldn’t stop thinking how I would draw a mushroom inspired by these playful glass mushrooms. 

Once at home, I immediately went to work on drawing a mushroom. It brought the same sense of joy, wonderment, and excitement that it had the first time. I then had the thought, what if I draw a mushroom every day for year, what would that be like? That began a process that has kept me excited for days to come. I couldn’t wait for my daily practice of exploring colors, shapes, and textures based on the mushroom world giving me a sense of playfulness and childlike curiosity.

Through this exploration, I continue to find that the mushrooms take on a personality or character where they are alive with movement, emotion and a spiritual feeling of light beaming out into space. Each drawing is an interchange of energy that creates dynamic movement tapping into a nature of wonderment, light, and hope. They are nostalgic and yet modern, creating a sense of magic with an ethereal sense of wonderment. 

As I have spent recent years reclaiming my German heritage, I am returning to the German pronunciation of my last name from (May burger to MY-bair-guh). In my research of my heritage, I discovered that in German folklore that mushrooms are a symbol of good luck. I now wish for everyone who sees maiShrooms, that they experience a sense of good luck by being bold in living life, brave in expressing love, and finding a way to just B.