This beautiful video, “Try It and See: The Story Behind the Discovery of Mushroom Dyes,” captures the early history of mushroom dyeing as told by Dorothy Beebee, Miriam Rice’s close friend and colleague in all things mushroom. Dorothy’s sensitive pen-and-ink scientific drawings appear in each of Miriam’s books, showing the love and excitement in their shared discoveries that photography simply can’t capture.
An accidental discovery in the 1960s by Miriam Rice, an artist from Mendocino, California, led to the unlocking of the full spectrum of color from mushrooms. Miriam would later write the first book on using mushrooms as a new source of natural dyes in the 1970’s called “Let’s Try Mushrooms for Color.” This groundbreaking dye book was illustrated by Dorothy Beebee.
In this loving tribute produced by her children, Myra and Martin Beebee, Dorothy gives us a behind the scenes look into the discovery of mushroom dyes, the expansion of their work into two additional books, and her thoughts on the future of mushroom dyes.
The film premieres at the Mendocino Film Festival in June 2024 and will be available here thereafter.
For more information about the history of mushroom dyes in Northern California, visit www.mushroomsforcolor.com/history.
Find Miriam’s videos on mushroom for color and paper, visit https://rayandmiriamrice.com/videos-on-mushrooms-for-color-and-paper/