An exhibit of drawings, prints, artists’ books, and experimental film, both collaborative and solo, from the deep past to the extreme present.

Felicia Rice

Felicia Rice is an artist, letterpress printer, publisher, and educator. A native Californian rarely found far from the coast, she founded Moving Parts Press in Santa Cruz in 1977. Her letterpress studio was destroyed in the CZU Lightning Complex Fire in August 2020. With the help of over 800 supporters, she was able to reestablish Moving Parts Press in her childhood home in Mendocino. 

In close collaboration with visual and performing artists, writers, and philosophers, Rice has published books, broadsides, and prints. For almost 50 years Her work is held in library and museum collections worldwide, and has been included in exhibitions from Mexico City to New York and Japan. The complete Moving Parts Press archive is housed at UC Santa Barbara.

As a solo artist, Felicia’s focus is on unique drawings rather than multilayered print editions, using the hand as opposed to other mitigating technologies. She digs into negative space and exposes the positive in pen and ink. She reaches into the natural world to reveal its nocturnal residents, invisible currents, and seldom-seen elements.

Rice has been the recipient of awards and grants, from the National Endowment for the Arts to the French Ministry of Culture. Her interview in the Smithsonian Archives of American Art is available online. She is featured in the award-winning Craft in America documentary series in the episode Visionaries.

www.movingpartspress.com

www.docundoc.com

This exhibit features textiles of all kinds, prints, paintings, handmade paper, sculpture, and experiments using mushroom dye and pigments.

Selected works by contemporary artists and makers will be shown alongside notebooks and drawings by science illustrator Dorothy Beebee, who worked closely with dye pioneer Miriam C. Rice to unlock the full spectrum of color from mushrooms. Other artworks draw from Miriam’s personal collection and that of members of the non-profit organization Miriam founded in 1985, the International Mushroom Dye Institute (IMDI).

Dorothy recorded and illustrated the fungi Miriam explored in mushroom dyes, polypore paper, and mushroom pigment for watercolors and crayons. Their work together culminated with Miriam’s last book, Mushrooms for Dye, Paper, Pigments & Myco-Stix™. Their history is documented in the film, Try It & See: The Story Behind Mushroom Dyes, which will be shown during the run of the exhibit.

MUSHROOMS & COLOR is hosted by the International Mushroom Dye Institute (IMDI).

View full gallery here: https://www.mushroomsforcolor.com/gallery/

OPEN CALL TO ARTISTS!

Seeking textiles of all kinds, prints, paintings, handmade paper, sculpture.
Share your experiments using mushroom dye and pigments! Surprise us!

Submissions deadline Sunday, February 1st.

Submit your application through the IMDI online gallery here.

There is a $20 application fee for up to 3 items. For those in need of having the application fee waived, email Felicia Rice at mushroomsforcolor@gmail.com.

All works submitted will be showcased on IMDI’s online gallery.
Notification by Wednesday, February 4
Drop off at Mendocino Art Center February 8/9

FILM SCREENING

TRY IT AND SEE: THE STORY BEHIND MUSHROOM DYES

Directed by Martin Beebee
Saturday, February 28th at 6pm

Mushrooms are now widely used as a source for natural dyes. Many dyers today may not know that it all began with an accidental discovery by Miriam Rice, an artist from Mendocino, California. Miriam would later write the first book on using mushrooms as a source of natural dyes in the 1970’s called “Let’s Try Mushrooms for Color.” This groundbreaking dye book was illustrated by artist and friend, Dorothy Beebee. Here, Dorothy gives a behind the scenes look into one slice of the early history of mushroom dyes, the expansion of their work into two additional books, and her thoughts on the future of mushroom dyes.

Exhibition - Mushroom & Color:  February 14-March 8, 2026
Questions? Contact Felicia Rice mushroomsforcolor@gmail.com

We welcome our members to bring one piece of artwork to exhibit. We will be accepting work on a first-come, first-serve basis and will do our best to include all members into the exhibit. We will be awarding recognition of excellence through a community vote.

Sat/Sun March 8th & 9th (11:00-4:00) Art Take In
Saturday March 14th (11:00-4:00) Exhibition Opening
Saturday, April 5th (11:00-4:00) Exhibition Closing
Sun/Mon, April 5th & 6th (11:00-4:00) Art Pick Up

ELIGIBILITY / FEES / SALES
This Exhibition is open to all current MAC members. One piece of original artwork in any medium may be submitted. Please submit artwork which has NOT previously been shown at the MAC. Your Submission must not exceed 50lbs or 40 inches in either direction. Work must be received ready to install with proper hanging devices attached. Please label artwork with artist name, phone number, email address, title of work, medium, and retail price of work.

A non-refundable fee of $20 will be charged for your artwork entry. We prefer that the artwork would be offered for sale. Artist will receive 60% of the sale price. MAC retains a 40% commission on the sales for the purpose of sustaining the non-profit.

Please note that artwork will be accepted and displayed on a first-come, first-serve basis until our walls have been fully filled. A large number of larger canvases will limit haw many artworks can be displayed.

PICKING UP ARTWORK

In the event that your artwork does not sell, please plan to pick up your artwork on Saturday or Sunday, September 7th & 8th, 11:00 am - 4:00 pm. Mendocino Art Center does not have storage facilities and your artwork is insured only for the duration of the exhibit. If you are unable to pick up your work, please provide prior written authorization for another person to do so on your behalf. For more information, please email gallery@mendocinoartcenter.org.