From Bench to Biome:
Sunday Spores on Community and the MycoVerse
Notes from the workshop: State of Flux
Sometimes I dive straight into things assuming everyone already knows what I’m talking about, so here’s a bit of background for those who don’t:
State of Flux Workshop is a contemporary jewellery gallery and working studio, tucked inside the Salamanca Arts Centre precinct in nipaluna/Hobart, lutruwita/Tasmania. It’s run by a small collective of jewellers: Anna Weber, Gabbee Stolp, Jane Hodgetts, myself (Emma Bugg), and our beautiful, sensational, definitely-magical newest member, Trudi Brinckman.
Opening in 2020, the space doubles as both our workshop and a gallery/shopfront where we share our work with the public. You’re always welcome to pop in. We’re often working away at the bench, and love chatting with visitors about the making process, materials, and ideas behind the pieces
This week at State of Flux, we gathered again for our second in a series of artist talks. This is an ongoing practice in connection, and community building. These sessions aren’t set in a sterile lecture theatre. They are gentle, and happen in the studio, in a warm, welcoming space that encourages questions, conversation, and the gentle bravery of speaking aloud.
The talks are a platform for both polishing words, and for testing them, sharing them, and hearing them land in the room. Our guests included long-time clients, students, fellow jewellers, and curious minds. There’s something special about coming together to listen and reflect, surrounded by tools, half-finished work, and the quiet, electrical buzz of creative energy.
This week, we had the pleasure of celebrating Natasa Milenovic. Natasa shared stories of growing up in Germany, and her early resistance to being funnelled into sewing while metalwork was reserved for the boys. She fought for a place at the bench and, in doing so, carved out her own path. Her practice connects with observation, and a deep reverence for pattern.
The theme she drew from her work was convergent patterns: the way certain structures reappear in different environments. There was a reference to the Golden Mean ratio in conversation, the logic of natural forms, and the metaphors embedded in materials. Art, for Natasa, is a way to make sense of the world through metaphor, tracing the invisible threads between ideas, forms, and feelings.
She spoke of relationships between materials, a kind of symbiotic sensibility, and the emotional pull of attachment. It made perfect sense, then, to learn that she forms rocks from metal, and through close observation of seaweed clinging to real stone, devised a way to join her seaweed forms to these cast-metal rocks. Each attachment is considered, deliberate, and full of care.
Over a glass of wine afterwards, the conversation circled back to the question: Why jewellery?
One thought stayed with me: humans are the attachment point…
Mushroom Festival Field Day
On another note: weaving together my wide-spanning worlds of creativity, tech and fungi, I’ll soon be speaking at the Tasmanian Mushroom Festival at Spring Bay Mill, alongside an inspiring and knowledgeable group of presenters.
I’ll admit, I’m prepared to be a little out of my depth, but that feels right. This is all part of the raw, vulnerable unfolding of the MycoVerse vision, a space where I expect to be humbled, to learn, and to keep growing.
What I am feeling confident about is sharing the vision and forming new connections. I’m planning to gather these threads and insights into a reflective report after the festival, to help shape the next stages of development.
My part in the day will involve exploring how fungi are influencing my creative practice and storytelling, and how art might help us imagine more connected, regenerative futures. I’ll share a basic VR demo with good ol’ Google Cardboard, and possibly a fancier headset if the seller on Facebook Marketplace replies.
If you’re curious about fungi, or just want to spend a day on the East Coast immersed in the weird and the wonderful world of fungi, come along. There’ll be mushroom-growing workshops, tastings, art, and plenty of things to spark new ways of thinking.
DETAILS
Date: Sunday June 8th, 2025
Time: 10am - 4pm
Cost: Entry is $15 [or $40 gets you a mushroom growing workshop with Tim from West Tamar Fungi ]
Location: Spring By Mill,
555 Freestone Point Road
trayapana/Triabunna, lutruwita/Tasmania, Australia 7190
Field Day Schedule: https://tasmanianmushroomfestival.com.au/festival
Full Month Program: https://tasmanianmushroomfestival.com.au/
As the rain gently taps the spores from the fungi outside, I’d better get back to spending this misty, rainy day refining my talk. If you have any questions, as always, I love hearing from you.
Emma x
PS:
🌊 Coming up: A raft, a dream, and a whole lot of heart.
My friend, and brand-new Substacker Samuel McLennan [ Project Interrupt ] is quite literally living the dream. He’s built a seaworthy raft from marine debris collected along lutruwita/Tasmania’s coastlines. The vessel, aptly named Heart, is part of his bold initiative: Project Interrupt, which challenges how we view waste, resilience, and what’s possible.
Sam’s journey from Hobart to Sydney is both a physical feat and a powerful statement about environmental responsibility and personal transformation. With few resources but boundless heart, he’s connecting with communities, visiting schools, and sparking meaningful conversations around sustainability and mental health.
Next week, I’ll be sharing more about Sam’s motivations, creative spirit, and the impact of Project Interrupt. In the meantime, you can find him on Instagram here and follow his just-launched Substack to show some love for this extraordinary journey.
Visiting HEART, mid build. Nubeena, 2023
Some earrings I made from plastic waste offcuts from Sam's raft, 2023
You are blowing my mind. Understanding myself better now with your reflection ⚡ thank you kind support x