We did some wandering around in Victoria Beach and I did some watercolours of our findings. We ended up bringing the lobster mushroom home and eating it. It seems like every year a bunch of us artists and musicians head out for 3 or 4 days and create art, eat some really good cheese, cook steaks on the fire, and enjoy some ideation in the wilderness. Maybe I’ll make this a yearly thing, grow it, it’s relaxing and rewarding. This year’s attendees were celebrated photographer-watercolourist Leif Norman, puppeteer-musician-artist Curtis Wiebe, and yours truly.
These mushroom studies may lead to some more paintings, I was thinking a series of small oils to show of the vibrancy of the different kinds of mushrooms.
I discovered a few really good sites that will tell you what you should and shouldn’t eat. Here’s a guide you can get if you really curious about the ones you can eat. A quick search with google lens will get you close…and of course be careful! I think I found 50 poisonous mushrooms before I found one I could eat.
Stay tuned for more adventures out at the Brokenhead River Retreat!
James Culleton, born on March 28th, 1974, is a Winnipeg based artist, designer and musician. He’s known for his blind contour drawings and sculptures of musicians and musical instruments. His interests in public art have led him to create sculptures for the front of music venues in Winnipeg and outdoor pieces across rural Manitoba. He has published several books on drawing and teaches art at the Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Forum Art Centre in Winnipeg.
Leif Norman is a full time arts and culture photographer in Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Curtis L. Wiebe is a short-film maker, illustrator, animator, musician and sculptor based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Identifiable by flights of the fantastic in settings of winter forests and prairie landscapes, Wiebe’s art is full of imaginative characters brought to life as drawings, puppets and elaborate costumes.
Wiebe’s films have screened at festivals around the world including the Jim Henson Foundation’s Puppets on Film Festival in New York as well as at a Robotics Festival in Belgrade, Serbia. He has gone on to help found the Winnipeg Puppet Collective and has worked on props and costumes for prominent local filmmakers Deco Dawson and Mike Maryniuk as well as Toronto’s Vision Entertainment.
Curtis L. Wiebe has a background working with children in day-cares, summer-camps, public schools and an inner-city community centre. He currently works part-time as an art teacher at the Winnipeg Art Gallery Studio in Winnipeg, MB.
