Wood is porous and is very easy to grow into!
Why would you do this?:
- GIY material is a composite, made of hemp hurd bound together with mycelium, which makes for a crumbly MDF texture. Growing into wood allows for a better screw-hold surface for mounting acoustic tiles and stool bases.
- Using GIY material as a sustainable core to furniture and laminating with thin veneer allows for a strong exterior shell and uniform aesthetic.
- GIY material is strong in volume but lacks ability to be replacements for areas like table and chair legs where wood excels in tension. It is a great material to combine with wood for this reason.
Instructions:
- Make 1:10 hydrogen peroxide to water bath.
- Soak wood for at least 45 minutes*
*Note: soaking will cause the wood to swell. If you have wood joinery, you won’t be able to assemble the pieces until after they’ve dried and deswell.
- Fill the growth form with the GIY material / Living material already prepped for this stage (broken up, flour added, mixed.)
- Add in wood pieces as desired based on your design. For our example, we are nestling the wood to the top of the growth form at the end, so when we remove from the growth form the wood will be on the underside of the stool top for the legs to screw into.
- Seal up the growth form with plastic wrap to keep all moisture in.
- Allow to grow together for 5-6 days until fully white.
- Remove from the growth form and allow to overgrow with the pod technique for 1-2 days. Add a basin of water to the pod for extra humidity in the pod through evaporation.
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Remove from the pod and bake the piece until 30% of the original weight in an oven at 180 degrees F.
Note: Baking is optional but recommended. If you don’t use an oven and let the piece dry out ambiently, the mycelium is not desiccated and could reanimate and continue to grow. Museums and galleries often require biological project to be fully inert in order to display.
- Finish the assembly of the components if necessary to complete the piece.
