{"id":1026,"date":"2025-10-31T14:21:43","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T12:21:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/ngaea\/?p=1026"},"modified":"2025-10-31T14:21:43","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T12:21:43","slug":"crafting-connections-a-fungal-approach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/ngaea\/2025\/10\/31\/crafting-connections-a-fungal-approach\/","title":{"rendered":"Crafting Connections \u2013 A Fungal Approach"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The project Crafting Connections \u2013 A Fungal Approach explores fungi as both a metaphor and a method for collective learning and making. Inspired by Let\u2019s Become Fungal (Ostendorf-Rodr\u00edguez, 2023), the project uses mycelium not only as a biological system but also as a way of thinking and teaching \u2014 one that grows through connection, curiosity, and care rather than hierarchy.

Based in Ume\u00e5, Sweden, and part of Lessons of the Land, the project brought together participants aged 9 to 72 to create shared spaces for learning and making. A series of workshops was held by Lotta Lundstedt and Sara Rylander, Ume\u00e5 University during September and October 2025. <\/strong>

Text: Lotta Lundstedt & Sara Rylander
Cover Photo: Lotta Lundstedt 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summary<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Across five gatherings, the group explored fungi through observation, conversation, and making. The first workshop took place outdoors in the forest, where participants shared a meal around the fire and exchanged experiences and knowledge about both the place and the fungi. They also collected mushrooms and later observed them through microscopes, discovering details invisible to the naked eye.

In the following sessions, the group worked with clay and glaze to create ceramic and wooden forms inspired by fungi \u2014 exploring texture, color, and organic growth patterns. Participants also experimented with natural dyes derived from fungi and shared the sensory experience of tasting mushroom tea. Each meeting began with a shared meal that invited conversation and trust, allowing the process to unfold openly, without pressure or predetermined outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Sara Rylander 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Everyone took part on equal terms, allowing knowledge to spread like the invisible threads of mycelium \u2014 branching, connecting, and finding its own direction. What emerged was a self-organizing process driven by curiosity and care, where participants needed to let go of certain assumptions about learning, leadership, and knowledge \u2014 much like fungi decompose old structures so that new life can emerge. This resonates with the idea of fungal capacity (Ostendorf-Rodr\u00edguez, 2023, p. 86), where learning is described as something that grows collectively from within rather than being imposed from above. It envisions artistic and educational spaces as living networks\u2014both refuge and infrastructure\u2014where imagination, learning, and unlearning can take root and regenerate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Sara Rylander 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Reflections from participants revealed a sense of ease, openness, and togetherness.

\u201cIt was nice that there was no pressure.\u201d
\u201cWe trusted the knowledge within the group \u2014 everyone had to contribute.\u201d
\u201cThe food started conversations; you talked to people you didn\u2019t know.\u201d

The group also expressed how curiosity and a sense of magic remained alive when there was no \u201cexpert\u201d present. During the final reflection, participants wished for more sessions, describing the experience as something that could continue to grow \u2014 like a living network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Sara Rylander 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Through Crafting Connections \u2013 A Fungal Approach, crafting became a way of connecting humans, materials, and place. The project highlights how shared making and collective processes can foster connection \u2014 between people, materials, and the environment \u2014 through curiosity, care, and time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The project Crafting Connections \u2013 A Fungal Approach explores fungi as both a metaphor and a method for collective learning and making. Inspired by Let\u2019s Become Fungal (Ostendorf-Rodr\u00edguez, 2023), the project uses mycelium not only as a biological system but also as a way of thinking and teaching<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48463,"featured_media":1027,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-visual-essays","category-in-sweden"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/ngaea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/ngaea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/ngaea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/ngaea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48463"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/ngaea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1026"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/ngaea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1031,"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/ngaea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1026\/revisions\/1031"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/ngaea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/ngaea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/ngaea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogi.eoppimispalvelut.fi\/ngaea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}