MANTIS AZUL



I create access points of connection to living systems by using anchor points of the human experience such as nostalgia, and grief. 

Most importantly, my art is an experiment. A will to try and understand what I am ultimately unsure about. To connect to what I fear and feel so deeply for.

The majority of my work has geared towards independent scientific research grounded in accessibility, community science and craft. My main collaborators are Blue Elf Cup, and Ganorderma Sessile.


Upcoming Events


MYCOMEMORIA: A Mycelium Workshop by Mantis Harper-Blanco and Rachel Rusk hosted at the Baltimore Underground Science Space
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/myco-memoria-tickets-1981531708682

IMAGINING OTHERWISE: An Integrated Future by Alberto Martinez Garaulet and Mantis Harper-Blanco hosted by MICAxMcDonogh School. 


Contact me for inquiries 

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PITTED:  Home at the Heart of An Empire 


2025

Bacterial cellulose from K.hansenii, Branch soruced from Druid Hill Park, Ceramic vessel, Gelatin based resin and fish wire

Pitted: Home at the Heart of an empire asks, what does it look like to make a home at the heart of an empire? Growing up under the rapid synchronized development of the internet and the climate crisis, impermanence has dictated our lives. As witnesses of industrialization’s indefinite expansion, we wonder how to root ourselves in a foundation that bears constant extraction, extinction, and exploitation. We ground ourselves in the cultivating of homes, in remembering what was and fostering what could be. 

What if we stick our hands in the soil? 
What if we shape the air? 
Blow the dust off of our fingertips? 
What if we let things get dirty?

Can the Earth afford our dream of living?

Exhibited at AREA 405

Curators

Mina Sarfaraz and Nadia Nazar 

Artists

Mantis Harper-Blanco, Michelle Shengyu Li, Jungwon Lee, Nadia Nazar, Maia Malakoff, Kate Boyer, Liam Davis, Rey Reyes, Asha Iman, Sofia Klimkowski-Arango, Eleanor Koster, Sarah Leiva, Madi Diaz, Aidan Lodge, Ruth Huang, Mathilde Mujanayi, Marissa Vazhappilly, Hailey Winn, Mina Sarfaraz and Havi Peterson 

Symbiotic Stitches


2024

Mycelium patches, Slime mold, Lichen, Cyanotype, Hemp and Cotton 

Collaborators

Austin Chia, Maia Malakoff, Nadia Nazar, 
Katherine Luna, Leyi Guo,  Mantis Harper-Blanco, and Jingwen Zhang

Contributors

Ryan Hoover, Rachel Rusk and Caelan Grace McCollum 

Concept

How can we practice care with our collaborators and with each other to craft resilient symbiotic communities?

Craft and biodesign share a common origin as responses to times of struggle through modes of production and expression. Symbiotic Stitches is our response to the challenge we face as a society to address the multidimensional ecological problems we have created and now attempt to control.

As artists, we have inherited a long and rich legacy of quilting. It is within our familial heritage to create and quilt. With its many disparate pieces stitched together, the quilt is a symbol of community. Biomaterials have a welcome place here. Moreover, quilting groups are an active practice of community, where people talk and bond while working together.

As learned in our quilting group, we practice care with our collaborators in the lab—mycelium, slime mold, and lichen. We endeavor to support and learn from them, not simply extract from them. We focus on elements of regeneration to repair and mend. Our biomaterial quilt embodies the perseverance living in all of us.

How can we practice care with our collaborators and each other to craft resilient symbiotic communities? In our bio-quilting group, we are generating a language between the human and more-than-human world. Come talk and work with us as we answer this question together.

This project was a collaborative research project under the class Grow the Future at MICA. The final project gets sent to the Bio Design Challenge, an international competition hosted in NYC. Symbiotic Stitches was one of the top 8 finalists and won the Outstanding Narrative award. 


Resources

Elise Elsacker, Meng Zhang, and Martyn Dade‐Robertson. “Fungal Engineered Living Materials: The Viability of Pure Mycelium Materials with Self‐Healing Functionalities.” Advanced Functional Materials 33, no. 29 (July 2023): 2301875. https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202301875.

BioDesign Challenge 2024. Maryland Institute College of Art Symbiotic Stitches Webpage Profile
https://www.biodesignchallenge.org/mica-2024



i am here 


2023

Glazed Ceramic, E.coli Bacteria on an agar plate

Concept

Bio-printed my fathers letter through E.coli bacteria. My father has passed and his letters are what I have left of him. Through the bacteria, my dad speaks once again. He lives, he grows and he dies once again.

Process

Bio printed E.coli bacteria by genetically modifying the appearance of the E.coli.


What are we losing in letting go?


2023

Ganoderma Lucidum, Decal 

Concept

Mycelium has memory. Like me. I want mycelium to create memories from my memories, where my nostalgia becomes food for growth and feeds the internal complexity of mycelium decision making. We become one. 

Process

Photo transfer process on mycelium where mycelium uses the image as food rather than as a surface. The intention was to find an alternative photo transfer process that was also heat resistant. Decal is a photo transfer technique in ceramics in which an image fuses with the surface after a kiln firing. 


To make mycelium material, the mycelium must be baked at a temperature of 150 - 300 degrees. Decals were used as an image transfer process that would withstand the heat of the oven. 





Pit Fire and Fruiting Bodies Experiment 


2023

Earthenware, Oyster Fruiting Bodies, Seaweed, Curry, Cheesecloth, Wax seal 

Process

 By using the atmospheric qualities of the pitfire kiln, I was able to create beautiful imagery and silhouettes of Oyster Mushrooms onto ceramic ware. I soaked Oyster fruiting in copper carbonate for one hour.  Once done, I pressed them into the interior of the plate and as a result of the chemical reactions in the kiln, the fruiting bodies left a gentle impression against the fired earthenware.






Swallow


2023

Ceramic, Decals

The imagery depicted are all images and quotes a part of my personal archive. I made a vessel that holds my memories in obscurity, fantasy in form, and openly in gesture. The viewer must squat down to view what is on display within the vessel. I am asking the viewer to get low and intimate with moments of my life to consider the role they play in the perception and creation of me, a stranger and a friend.