Mushroom Tints and Toners

I'm often out foraging for mushrooms, which I use medicinally and as food. Recently, I've been experimenting with making film tints and toners from the mushrooms I gather.

This Gymnopilus species will make a gorgeous yellow-orange dye when combined with an alum (potassium aluminum sulfate) mordant. These mature specimens are releasing masses of their gorgeous cinnamon-orange spores. The more mature the better for the color of the dye.

The cut Gymnopilus mushrooms laid out on drying racks. Drying the mushrooms before extracting their pigment enhances the color produced.

Lichens also make marvelous dyes:

This beauty isn't destined for the dye pot, but its structure is well deserving of a post. It's a Dictyophora duplicata (Net Stinkhorn) egg.