Happy 102nd Independence Day, beautiful Finland! 🇫🇮 Today I celebrate my Nordic home, and everything I love about it. Its four seasons, its vast forests and its 187,888 lakes. Its mythology and peculiar traditions, from sauna elves to Midsummer magic, and from ice swimming to kalsarikännit. I celebrate our everyman's rights - our freedom to enjoy our forests and pick mushrooms and berries, regardless of who owns the land. And the fact that for the second year in a row, Finland has been named the happiest country in the world. 😊
I call this mushroom heart I created last year "Blue and White" after the colours of our flag. Rauhallista itsenäisyyspäivää to all my fellow Finns, and happy weekend to all of you! ❤️
My heart is buzzing with joy after my trip to Oslo, Norway! 🇳🇴 What a fun city with friendly, hospitable people!! 😍
Big, big thanks to @finnokultur and @pechakuchanightoslo for inviting me to speak about my #mushroomart, and to Sébastian Dahl, the fantastic photographer who captured these moments! (Check him out at www.sebastiandahl.com!) ❤️ And big hugs to everyone, who came to see my talk, and who came to talk to me afterwards. It was so much fun to meet all of you, and to hear your thoughts! ❤️
"Why pick mushrooms if you're not going to eat them?" 🍄
Sometimes I get surprisingly hateful comments for my art. I've even been accused of "murdering mushrooms." These people probably mean well, but science of sustainability doesn't have their back. Studies have shown that picking mushrooms doesn't effect the underground mycelia or future harvests. (If you don't believe me, google the Swiss study. 😉) It's like picking apples - I'm not harming the apple tree.
Turns out I'm not the only target! Many nature artists, educators and photographers receive similar attacks. We all just want to inspire others to see the beauty in nature. If you want to support our work, and help us spread scientific facts, you can help by liking, commenting sharing and using the hashtag #StopPickShaming. 🍄 Who's with me? 😊
To this post I've tagged some of my favorite mushroom-related accounts - I'm inviting you all to join the campaign! Check them out and send them some love! 💚
