Sam Shoemaker is a Los Angeles-based sculpture artist whose work is a collaboration between himself and species of mushrooms. Sam Shoemaker: Mushroom Boat is exhibited at Fulcrum Arts. Alongside the mushroom boat itself, the exhibition features large-scale projections, time-lapse videos, and soundscapes that immerse visitors in Shoemaker’s journey over 26 miles of open ocean, where he passed through turbulent water, encountered wildlife, crossed a commercial shipping lane, and battled headwind. 

Additionally, Shoemaker is releasing an open-source compendium detailing his mycological research and methodologies. A hard copy and digital version are available. Shoemaker releases this document with the hope that others will carry his research forward, using fungi—an organic, versatile, and renewable resource—to pursue responsible technical and creative innovations. 

Shoemaker’s artist talk at Pasadena City College details his experience and processes making the mushroom boat, crossing the Catalina Channel, and working with sustainable mycomaterials. This event is open to the public.