Listening to Secret Worlds – An Intro to Field Recording
Plus, come learn about ~fungal migrations~ @ Descanso Gardens next week.
From our fungal embroidery workshop last month with Shagane of Folk Lounge at Lauren’s house!
📸: Lola @chicawithbees on Instagram
Dear Fellow Myconauts,
I’m overjoyed to have some incredible teaching opportunities this month with my old bandmate Ian teaching introduction to field recording, and I’ll be back at Descanso to discuss the microbial migrations of fungi!
We had a wonderful fourth-year celebration featuring the Learning to Collaborate with Fungi exercise by Elspeth and Lenka, which we will surely be doing again due to the immense joy it brought and popular demand. Stay tuned. Our next Mycoverse event, on August 25th, The Return Address, will build on this exercise and the more-than-human rights work we’ve been discussing this year.
PS – Thanks to all who helped us find a new place to live. We are in the midst of moving into a new place, and unfortunately, we've discovered mold in it as well. However, we are working on remediating it, and so far it appears to be contained.
Fungi are truly everywhere.
Listening to Secret Worlds with Aaron Tupac & Ian Wellman
Sunday, August 17th, 9am @ Arroyo Seco & Fulcrum Arts, Pasadena, CA – $5-$25
I am excited to announce a new workshop I’m doing with my long-time partner in sound, Ian Wellman. For several years, we performed live in an electromagnetic field recording called Zzyzxzyzz, named after the location where we met at a field recording workshop at the Desert Studies Center in Zzyzx, where we recorded bats and ants.
This workshop is part of a Fulcrum Arts exhibition featuring Ian's documentation of the sounds of the Arroyo Seco River, titled ‘Between the Sound,’ which includes the soundscapes of the more-than-human world.
Now, about the workshop! Come along as we explore the sounds of secret worlds along the Arroyo Seco watershed. Following the activity, participants will gather at the Fulcrum Arts HQ for a short lecture where I will discuss my work and provide an introduction to lifeforms of Arroyo Seco, such as fungi and insects. Additionally, workshop leaders will discuss techniques for recording sounds the human auditory system cannot perceive, such as electromagnetic fields.
Descanso Gardens – Cultivate: Fungal Migrations with Aaron Tupac
Friday, August 22nd, 4:30 pm - 7:00 pm @ Descanso Gardens, La Cañada Flintridge, CA – Free with admission
Image source from Nature.com, Fungal spores as a source of sodium salt particles in the Amazon basin.
Come along to learn about the migrations of fungi and the migration of other local beings like birds with Friends of the LA River, pollinators with the Arroyos and Foothills Conservancy, and others! Free with admission.
RETURN ADDRESS - Connecting to the Natural World
Monday, August 25th, 7pm @ Arlington Garden, Pasadena, CA – Free by donation
Join us as we explore a contemplative writing exercise developed by the poet Erin Robinsong to connect with the natural world around us. We will wander around the garden to practice noticing and responding to the beings we encounter in the garden.
This workshop builds on our work thinking about how we can get involved and promote the More-Than-Human Rights movement. We've learned that it will take all disciplines, including the creativity of the arts and writers.
Aaron learned this exercise from a workshop they attended two years ago on Cortes Island and has been waiting for the perfect time to share this exercise!!
👋 📝 For this workshop, please bring your own notebook and something to write with (pen or pencil). ✏️📕
🌱🪻🍄🌳🐜🌲🕸️🌸🌿🍄🟫🌱🪻🍄🌳🐜🌲🕸️🌸🌿🍄🟫🌱🪻🍄🌳🐜🌲🕸️🌸🌿🍄🟫
Survey Question! If you’re interested in discussing The Light Eaters again or missed the last discussion, fill out the survey below. I’m trying to see if there’s enough interest to host another gathering on this mind-bending book.
Spores that caught our attention ✨
Hummingbirds who use lichens to decorate their nests:
