Robert G. Kemp Award recipient Sarah Hancock brings art, mycology and natural dye research together for an immersive forest experience in Springwater
What if a walk through the woods could change the way you see colour? Quest Art School and gallery programmer and curator Sarah Hancock invites artists, naturalists and the simply curious to head into the forest for a distinctly different kind of plein air experience this October.
Presented through the Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts (BMFA), Sketching the Forest: A Mushroom Foray with Sarah Hancock will take place Monday, Oct. 5 from 10 a.m. to noon in Springwater. This two- hour, artist-led experience will bring together art, mycology, naturalism and Hancock’s ongoing exploration of mushrooms as sources of natural pigment.
Rather than setting up an easel before a sweeping landscape, participants will focus on what is happening beneath the canopy. Hancock will lead the group through the woods in search of dye mushrooms, moving through the landscape and pausing to examine, identify and sketch different specimens. Through the foray, she will share insights into mycorrhizal relationships, forest ecology and the surprising potential of fungi to produce natural colour for textile and artistic applications.
“Mushrooms can be incredibly easy to overlook, but once you start paying attention, an entirely different world of colour, texture and form begins to reveal itself,” says Hancock. “There is so much to discover, whether you are interested in drawing, natural dyes, textiles, mycology or understanding more about what is growing around you. I hope people come away seeing possibilities in the forest they may never have considered before.”
Hancock was named the 2026 recipient of the Robert G. Kemp Award, which provides a $4,000 grant to a South Georgian Bay visual artist to support the development of a new body of work, along with opportunities to engage the community through exhibitions and public programming.
An emerging interdisciplinary artist, Hancock works at the intersection of textiles, natural dyes, mycology and land-based practice. Her research has taken her from a Fungivor Residency in Oaxaca, Mexico, where she further developed her work with mycology-based dyes through mentorship with Allisa Allen, to a Canada Council for the Arts- supported residency in Northern Iceland. Her natural dye research has also received the Canadian Colour Research Society Award.
Closer to home, Hancock has been recognized with the City of Barrie’s Emerging Artist Award and BMFA’s Murray J. Clerkson Award. At Quest Art School and Gallery in Midland, her role as programmer and curator sees her championing the work of other artists while continuing to advance a practice of her own.
“Sarah has an extraordinary ability to reveal creative possibilities in places others might not think to look,” says Lawrence Sagar, executive director of Quest Art School + Gallery. “Her practice brings art and ecology together in ways that are unexpected, thoughtful and incredibly engaging. We are proud to see her recognized through the Kemp Award and excited for more people to experience the ideas that continue to shape her work.”
No advanced artistic or mycological knowledge is required to participate in Sketching the Forest.
The experience is equally suited to plein air artists and drawing, textile and fibre artists interested in natural colour, naturalists and mushroom enthusiasts or anyone intrigued by the connections between art and the ecosystems around us. Participants can sketch as inspiration strikes or follow the foray, learn from Hancock and experience the forest through a new lens.
“For me, the Kemp Award is as much an opportunity to share my practice as it is to advance it,” adds Hancock. “Bringing people into the landscape and introducing them to this intersection of art, mycology and natural colour feels like a very meaningful way to do that.”
Sketching the Forest: A Mushroom Foray with Sarah Hancock takes place Monday, Oct. 5, from 10 a.m. to noon in Springwater. Registration is $30 for BMFA members, $35 for non-members and $15 for students.
Participants should bring a sketchbook and drawing materials if they wish to sketch and dress appropriately for changing weather and forest conditions. Long pants, long socks and insect repellent are strongly recommended for tick safety.
Advance registration is required through the Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts at www.bmfa. on.ca/event/sketching-the-forest-a-mushroom- foray-with-sarah-hancock/.
