the Foragers
Schuykill Center for Environmental Education | 2016 | Philadelphia, PA
Utilizing fiber sculpture and original photographs, The Foragers explored how nature can create something from almost nothing. Featuring all manner of fungi – brackets, buttons, ruffles, and the quintessential toadstool – Melissa Maddonni Haims’ and Josh Haims’ work celebrated the diversity and surprise of wild mushrooms in the forest ecosystem. This husband-wife team had long been mesmerized by the natural beauty of mushrooms. Inspired by the forms of these fungi, fiber artist Melissa created crochet mushrooms and assembled them in forest tableaus using bark and wood foraged from local forests. Josh’s photographs brought these mushrooms to saturated, luminescent life. Whimsical and delicate, these richly colored artworks gave small windows into the vibrance of the forest floor. Melissa’s crocheted imitations were on view in the gallery and the nearby trails, often appearing alongside their wild counterparts.