BioArt Bootcamp Fall workshop series!

From cultivating mycelium, Microbial art, Phyto photography, Bio-Sonification, Fermenting forms, Physarum encounters & more!
Workshops are available individually or register for the entire series.
Workshops include PDF files of materials/supply info, links to recorded workshop(s), Bioart/sciart maker space labs throughout Canada, Mexico, Europe, SE Asia, and the United States. Material and supply lists will be sent out in advance of each workshop when possible.* If not in advance, participants can expect to receive materials lists, etc. after the workshops.

Workshops will run $45 per or $150 for the entire series.
This workshop series will take place online via Zoom

The Zoom workshops will begin with an introduction then a slide presentation, Q&A, 10 minute break, demos, Q&A . Workshops running longer than 3/hrs will have a short break every hour.  Chat will be open for participants to share questions, links to their work, etc.

Ticket button above takes you to Eventbrite where you can register for the Bootcamp Series. Individual workshops may be purchased through the links below.

Workshop 1 • Sunday, September 27th 12pm to 4pm EDT

Bio-Sonification: Potential uses towards bio-remediation, art, music and more. Step by step Breadboarding of electronic components creating an Arduino shield to building your own Module. Inspiration, field recording and more!
breadboard components towards building an Arduino shield
constructing various electrodes for use in collecting soil, plant, fungi and human biodata
translating biodata into sound using MIDI and Control Voltage output- analog and digital.
Inspiration- artists and scientists working with biodata to Midnight Mushroom Music.

Workshop 2 (perhaps of interest to ceramicists and fashion/textile designers) Sunday, October 4th 12 PM to  4 PM EDT

Microbial Art: from Bio pigments/inks, Obvara glazes and Winogradsky Columns= Enter the world of microbes!
Introduction to bioPigments, step by step how-to’s, applications and inspiration in abundance!
Tosca has travelled Australia, Canada, Iceland and NZ researching Obvara mixtures.
What is Obvara? Obvara, which is said to be pronounced ab-vara (and is sometimes known as ‘Baltic raku’) is believed to have originated in Eastern Europe (mainly Belarus, Estonia and Latvia) in around the 12th century. The technique is known as ‘hardened ceramics’ or ‘blackened pots’ in Latvia, ‘sourdough pottery’ or ‘yeast pottery’ in Lithuania and ‘scalded ceramics’ in Russia.
Obvara interacts with the clay to create random, chaotic patterns. Often making lichen-like, dendritic patterns, and structures on the clay surface.
Bio-pigments from bacteria and beautiful, colourful Winogradsky columns.

Workshop 3 (in partnership with Interaccess) Sunday October 18th 1PM to 4PM EDT  PWYC {link to register will be available in September}  Mycelium Bio-Materials 

From cultivating mycelium edibles, to sculpting, creating mycelium ‘leather’, acoustic panels and more! Working with various substrates and additives, growth mediums, 3D armatures, recycled materials and heaps of inspiration. Step by step demonstrations on pasteurizing, ‘growing’ a mycelium bag, mushrooms used for leather and dying and more! During this workshop participants are introduced to the amazing potentials of mycelium. Mycelium can be used in industrial design, art, architecture – the possibilities are seemingly endless! Check out the Mycelium Martian Dome project, an installation that took place in 2019 through a residency at the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto in partnership with the Ontario Science Centre. NASA Ames Research Centre will cite this artist’s vision/public installation in Phase II in their research towards fungi based building/insulating materials.

Workshop 4   

SCOBY Fermenting Forms
Cultivate Kombucha (Medusomyces gisevii) leather at home and start designing your own clothing, accessories and experimentations with this flexible bio-material alternative to animal sourced textiles.
Participants will learn how to grow and work with SCOBY=Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast through step by step instructions. Demonstrations will be given on methods to dye, dry and finish SCOBY leather, discussing design ideas, process and inspiration from artists currently working with bacterial cellulose, as well as suggested suppliers both local and abroad.

Workshop 5

Phyto + Fungal photography Sunday, November 15th 12 PM to 3 PM EDT – with potential to run to 4 PM

Photographers and artists working with alternative plant based developers and toners to photographers collaborating with
microbes and fungi in their work. Step by step demonstrations, inspiration and safety protocols. Developing prints using weeds found in your garden or grocery store, coffee, fungi, to working with microbes. Experiments with instant film, photographic paper, negatives and cyanotypes will be discussed.

Workshop 6

Physarum Encounters  Sunday, November 22nd 12 PM to 3 PM

During this workshop, Tosca Terán introduces the potential of slime mould for collaboration at the intersection of art and science. Participants learn how to set-up their kitchen/studio into safe, mini-Physarum Biolabs towards raising Physarum polycephalum.
The workshop invites participants to experiment with different biological media and feeding substrates, reflecting on how they inform the growth and morphology of protozoans and protists. Discussions around working with Physarum towards mapping areas (your daily bike route, for instance) to slime circuitry, artists working with Physarum.
*Physarum polycephalum is a yellow ameboid dweller of decaying logs and decomposing vegetation on dim forest floors. It made headlines when Japanese biologists demonstrated its uncanny ability to optimize paths through mazes and reproduce tracks between mapped Tokyo railway stations. Since then, slime mould has become an attractive living substrate for research in diverse areas such as mathematical modelling, computation and bio-art.

Link: https://soundcloud.com/nanotopia/episode-3-special-guest-physarum-polycephalum

Thank you in advance for your support of this workshop series. Please note that due to the large undertaking putting these workshops together we will not be able to offer refunds.
Thank you for your understanding.