ThreadRootSpore

ThreadRootSpore (2025-2026) is an ongoing project funded by the Axis Assemble Artist Bursary (2025) which focuses on fungi in and around Ballymun. The mycelial networks from which mushrooms (the fruiting bodies) arise mirror systems of reciprocity, care, repair, connection and stewardship. This project is a deeply personal one for me having grown up in Ballymun during the 90s and early 2000s.

As of today (March 2026), I am in the stages of creating pieces of work emerging from my bursary research and the finished works will be presented as part of an exhibition - ThreadRootSpore - from July 2nd to July 5th 2026 in Daylight Glasnevin.

These works will include zine page prints, crochet and lace works, photography and film. There will also be a performative presentation of an invented mythos of fungal roots in Ballymun which were severed during the demolition of the seven iconic tower blocks and the Ballymun Shopping Centre.

Below you’ll find images of my research, artistic experiments, sketches and works-in-progress. I’ll be adding to this as the project nears completion.

Visually mapping ideas, spore prints, mushroom locations, and other aspects of early research on my studio wall

Visually mapping ideas, spore prints, mushroom locations, and other aspects of early research on my studio wall

Visually mapping ideas, spore prints, mushroom locations, and other aspects of early research on my studio wall

Visually mapping ideas, spore prints, mushroom locations, and other aspects of early research on my studio wall

Mini-zine page sample noting the location, possible identification, spore print and habitat of found mushrooms in Ballymun

Mini-zine page sample noting the location, possible identification, spore print and habitat of found mushrooms in Ballymun

Mini-zine folded from an A2 page documenting experiments including bobbin lace prickings

Mini-zine folded from an A2 page documenting experiments including bobbin lace prickings

Spore print from an Amanita Rubescens (AKA a "blusher") mushroom

Spore print from an Amanita Rubescens (AKA a "blusher") mushroom

Bobbin lace sample made to test the look of a thicker gauge thread for a final piece

Bobbin lace sample made to test the look of a thicker gauge thread for a final piece

Clavaria Fragilis found near Ballymun - also called Fairy Fingers

Clavaria Fragilis found near Ballymun - also called Fairy Fingers

I sewed a patch on the underside of a mushroom cap to try to created a more stable matrix for crocheting into, but the cap was still too fibrous

I sewed a patch on the underside of a mushroom cap to try to created a more stable matrix for crocheting into, but the cap was still too fibrous

Hand-crocheted doily and mushrooms to which more mushrooms and photos from my childhood in the 7-storey flats on Shangan Road will be attached. The white doily represents the harmony present in mycelial and mycoremediated micro-ecologies

Hand-crocheted doily and mushrooms to which more mushrooms and photos from my childhood in the 7-storey flats on Shangan Road will be attached. The white doily represents the harmony present in mycelial and mycoremediated micro-ecologies

Two mushrooms - crocheted with crochet cotton thread, a 1mm hook, variegated yarn for the caps and embroidered french knots - based on the Amanita Virosa species of mushroom but with a coloured cap

Two mushrooms - crocheted with crochet cotton thread, a 1mm hook, variegated yarn for the caps and embroidered french knots - based on the Amanita Virosa species of mushroom but with a coloured cap

A failed attempt at crocheting a foundation chain into the rim of a mushroom cap in order to crochet lace from it

A failed attempt at crocheting a foundation chain into the rim of a mushroom cap in order to crochet lace from it

Spore printing mushrooms found on a mushroom walk in Howth as part of my bursary period

Spore printing mushrooms found on a mushroom walk in Howth as part of my bursary period

Mycelium forming on a detached branch in my garden in winter

Mycelium forming on a detached branch in my garden in winter

Bobbin lace freeform piece mirroring a strand of mycelium

Bobbin lace freeform piece mirroring a strand of mycelium

Bobbin lace freeform piece mirroring a strand of mycelium

Bobbin lace freeform piece mirroring a strand of mycelium

Mushrooms found in GLAS garden, Shangan Road, Ballymun

Mushrooms found in GLAS garden, Shangan Road, Ballymun

The second bobbin lace piece reflecting mycelium - the inclusion of the half-stitch braid represents the nexus at which chemical interchanges happen between mycelial network and the plants and trees it supports.

The second bobbin lace piece reflecting mycelium - the inclusion of the half-stitch braid represents the nexus at which chemical interchanges happen between mycelial network and the plants and trees it supports.

More mushrooms found locally (identification unclear but likely honey fungus)

More mushrooms found locally (identification unclear but likely honey fungus)

This second mycelial bobbin lace piece was abandoned after realising the thread was too thin to allow completion in a reasonable time frame, but I learned a lot.

This second mycelial bobbin lace piece was abandoned after realising the thread was too thin to allow completion in a reasonable time frame, but I learned a lot.

A little Parasola plicatilis (mostly likely) mushroom from a dispersed group found near the former Ballymun Shopping Centre site

A little Parasola plicatilis (mostly likely) mushroom from a dispersed group found near the former Ballymun Shopping Centre site

Found near Ballymun main road

Found near Ballymun main road

Found in Poppintree Park

Found in Poppintree Park

Agrocybe pediades (I think) found outside Ballymun Library

Agrocybe pediades (I think) found outside Ballymun Library

Agrocybe pediades (I think) found outside Ballymun Library

Agrocybe pediades (I think) found outside Ballymun Library

A brown spore print from the suspected Agrocybe pediades which helped with that preliminary identification

A brown spore print from the suspected Agrocybe pediades which helped with that preliminary identification

Sketch and planning for a final piece of bobbin lace - one of the 15 storey blocks of flats

Sketch and planning for a final piece of bobbin lace - one of the 15 storey blocks of flats

Sketch of a "Death" tarot card based on this project - 13 amanita virosa mushrooms emerging from the skull of a megafauna-era hare - the mycelial roots are producing the seven towers. The Death card indicates rebirth, growth from decay, and inevitabl

Sketch of a "Death" tarot card based on this project - 13 amanita virosa mushrooms emerging from the skull of a megafauna-era hare - the mycelial roots are producing the seven towers. The Death card indicates rebirth, growth from decay, and inevitable change - all aspects of mycological ecosystems.

A small portion of the bursary funding enabled me to participate in a private Kenmare lace class in Kenmare, Kerry with expert Nora Finnegan - here I am practicing basic stitches as part of that session

A small portion of the bursary funding enabled me to participate in a private Kenmare lace class in Kenmare, Kerry with expert Nora Finnegan - here I am practicing basic stitches as part of that session

A beautiful specimen of artist's conk - Ganoderma applanatum - found in Santry woods

A beautiful specimen of artist's conk - Ganoderma applanatum - found in Santry woods

Another shot of the artist's conk - Ganoderma applanatum - found in Santry woods. You can see its brown spores on the wood and ivy leaves beneath

Another shot of the artist's conk - Ganoderma applanatum - found in Santry woods. You can see its brown spores on the wood and ivy leaves beneath

Young Coprinus sp. mushrooms from Santry woods

Young Coprinus sp. mushrooms from Santry woods

Inkcap mushroom clusters like this were all over Santry woods the day I visited in September

Inkcap mushroom clusters like this were all over Santry woods the day I visited in September

Another cluster of inkcaps

Another cluster of inkcaps

A little earthball fungus found in Santry woods

A little earthball fungus found in Santry woods

A photo of an iconic Amanita muscaria mushroom I found on a mushroom walk in Howth as part of my bursary period. You can see more photos from this walk on my photography page

A photo of an iconic Amanita muscaria mushroom I found on a mushroom walk in Howth as part of my bursary period. You can see more photos from this walk on my photography page

This work-in-progress collar, based on a traditional Clones Irish crochet lace design by Máire Treanor features motifs of shamrocks, roses and skulls - revisiting the themes of rebirth, heritage and Irish flora I've explored throughout this project.

This work-in-progress collar, based on a traditional Clones Irish crochet lace design by Máire Treanor features motifs of shamrocks, roses and skulls - revisiting the themes of rebirth, heritage and Irish flora I've explored throughout this project. It will be finished with standing mushrooms from the shoulders and featured as part of a photoshoot in my final exhibition.

Resources:

Click here to access my Canva board I used to group my initial research into mycology-related topics: https://canva.link/4uh1xchi5stc71x

I highly recommend The Mushroom Hour podcast - it has tons of amazing episodes on a vast variety of fungi and mushroom topics: https://www.welcometomushroomhour.com/

Courtney Tyler of Hips & Haws Wildcrafts is an amazing font of wisdom about Ireland’s abundance of wild food and medicine including mushrooms. I attended an Amanita Muscaria workshop day with her and I cannot recommend her enough: https://hipsandhaws.com/

Other literature I accessed:

‘The Beauty and the Morbid: Fungi as Source of Inspiration in Contemporary Art - Corrado Nai and Vera Meyer - Fungal Biology and Biotechnology (Journal)

Fungi, Folkways and Fairy Tales: Mushrooms & Mildews in Stories, Remedies & Rituals, from Oberon to the Internet - Frank Duggan - North American Fungi (Journal)

Forest Fungi in Ireland - Paul Dowding and Louis Smith
First published in 2008 by COFORD, National Council for Forest Research and Development, Dublin, Ireland.

The ‘Interrupted Georgics’ of Mushrooms in Contemporary Irish Poetry - Jessica Bundschuh - ECOZONA (Journal)

Books I used for research:

Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World - Paul Stamets

Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our World (Illustrated Edition)- Merlin Sheldrake

The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins - Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing

Mycophilia: Revelations from the Weird World of Mushrooms - Eugenia Bone

Let’s Become Fungal! Mycelium Teachings and the Arts - Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodríguez

Mushrooms - Roger Phillips

The Magic of Mushrooms: Fungi in folklore, superstition and traditional medicine - Sandra Lawrence/Kew Royal Botanical Gardens

Poems about mushrooms I love:

Mary Oliver - Mushroomshttp://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/mary_oliver/poems/15867 

Derek Mahon - A Disused Shed in Co. Wexford
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/92154/a-disused-shed-in-co-wexford 

Sylvia Plath - Mushrooms
https://allpoetry.com/poem/8498359-Mushrooms-by-Sylvia-Plath 

Paul Muldoon - Gathering Mushrooms 
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14373494-Gathering-Mushrooms-by-Paul-Muldoon 

Simon Armitage - I Kicked a Mushroom
https://www.poetryinternational.com/en/poets-poems/poems/poem/103-30900_I-KICKED-A-MUSHROOM