Mushrooms (and enlightenment) are
my passion.

‘Forest of Enlightenment,” explores the life force of Gaia through the eyes of fungi and the mycelial network permeating the world. My inspiration began while foraging in Colorado and Washington, and has expanded to the deserts of California after rains, Switzerland, and France. Foraging plans for 2025 include India and Bhutan.

My fascination with the philosophical and biological interconnectedness of the human world with nature is a driving force behind this work. My love of wandering through forests – especially off-trail exploration – involves deep looking, meditating, and capturing special moments when the subject and light interact and call me to them.

In recent years, my attention shifted to the relationship between nature and its allies – primarily mushrooms – through photography, encaustic, mixed media, and oil. The mycelial network runs below trees in forests and gives birth to the world by spawning life in the soil and restoring balance to the planet. It has been said that human DNA is more closely related to mushrooms than to plants. I am deeply connected to mushrooms and their ability to heal and co-create with humans. My personal experience with medicinal, culinary, and spiritual (psychoactive) mushrooms has been a lifelong journey.

My life as an artist has taken a few twists and turns. Throughout my life, I focused primarily on portraits. I won the National Scholastic Art Award in 1978 (see below “Phyllis”). In 2008-2019 I was commissioned to do portraits of various international individuals including Jan Soderberg, Pearl Soderberg, Irene Zettergren, Barbara Hines, and others. Group shows include an international traveling show sponsored by the UN, several shows at the Aspen Art Museum, and a solo show at the Metaphor Gallery in Aspen.

Method

I’m a forest bather! My love is to wander through forests looking for signs of fungal activity. From the very damp forests of Washington to the dry lands of New Mexico and Palm Springs, to the varied terrain of the Colorado Rockies and Europe, I wander off trail, take photographs, meditate with, and (when lucky) forage mushrooms to eat later.

In my studio, I edit thousands of images, research the fungi, identify the species, study the Latin names, and collaborate with mycologists and other mycophiles who love sharing knowledge to build a growing database of remarkable mushrooms.

Then the real art begins  

Rarely interested in photography as an endpoint, I push the images by cropping, retouching, filtering, testing, and outputting on a variety of materials including glass, acrylic, and metal. My most recent work involves large encaustics (wax) on board.

Much of what I process in the editing phase wasn’t visible to my eye when shooting but manifests as a universe of its own when carefully observed on my computer. My heart is truly moved by the altered/filtered/abstracted photos themselves. 

My goal in producing this body of work is to extend my travels to explore the extraordinary species in other parts of the world. My aspiration is to share the magnificent beauty of mushrooms – the ultimate healer of the planet and the people – with others as a gateway to finding their own relationship with nature.

Education

Patricia Bukur attended the MA/PhD program in Depth Psychology with a Jungian Emphasis at Pacifica Graduate School. She is a Jungian-based coach (see forestune.com), microdose consultant, and author. Her art can be found in private collections in the US and Europe. She is currently writing a book on the spiritual benefits of psychedelic mushrooms. She is a contributing author and photographer in the 2024 publication of “Foraging Mushrooms in the Rocky Mountains” (Falcon Press), “Between the Space” Poetry and Art (out of publication), and “Evolution of Psyche: Psychedelics and Spiritual Awakening” (publication date 2025).

Patricia serves as a board member of the Colorado Mycological Society and the Aspen Indigenous Foundation. She leads summer mushroom forays in Colorado. She can be reached by clicking here.