Fieldwork:Madames of Mycology

Fieldwork: Madames of Mycology

2025

Edition of 50

Book measures 4” x 4” x 1” closed and 32” fully open, 9 panels
handmade abaca/mushroom paper, Stonehenge kraft printmaking paper
$100

Inspired by five women naturalists of the 1900s, this swing panel accordion binding was produced in continuation of the series. This edition is part of a series of books entitled "Field Work," which looks deeper into the lives and discoveries of early women scientists. Meant to both educate and inspire the reader about the world of women in mycology (fungi) in a playful form, it is part of an ongoing series. 

The five women featured in the narrative are: Catharina Helena Dörrien, Violetta White Delafield, Johanna Westerdijk, Elsie Maud Wakefield and Miriam C. Rice. The front side of the swing-panel accordion gives a brief poetic biography of the women and their fields of expertise. The back panels of each woman's biography are a layered digital print with silhouette imagery of the species the women researched and published work relating to.

The book comes in a portfolio flap enclosure printed 2 color letterpress (mushroom illustration texture and title). The book has a handmade paper with mushroom inclusions bookboard cover and letterpress title. The book itself is this 2-sided, with laser cut panels on five of the pages.

The book's structure is a swing-panel accordion (designed by Hedi Kyle), laser cut on each main panel, which allows the book to move within the frame, like a pop-up. The artwork was digitally designed and letterpress printed in 6 colors, with one-color biographies on the front side, and a transparent illustration on the title page and four-color imagery on the back side.