Inspiration – the role of fungi in decomposition of other organisms.

Many micro-organisms are involved in the process of decomposition. This process is important in removing the bodies of dead plants and animals and in releasing chemicals from those bodies to become nutrients for new growth. My final quilt in this series illustrates the fungus Amanita muscaria as it decomposes dead leaves – using some of the chemicals from the leaves to enable its own growth and releasing the rest into its surroundings. I have included a bracket fungus doing the same job as it grows on a dead tree trunk.

To complete my series and to show the cycle of life and death in Nature, I have included a small oak seedling growing from an acorn and obtaining nutrients from a pile of decayed leaves. This links back to the oak tree that was the subject of my first Nature quilt.

The quilt is made from cotton with Inktense pencils and machine stitched with rayon threads.