Moss Graffiti

In the Green Spirit of St. Patrick's Day, here is an Awesome Project to work on at home! or out on the town.


if Moss Graffiti doesn't brighten your day, you need a hug...send me your address and i will send one post-haste.

Here is the great post (and pictures) from Heavy Petal:

I lead my first workshop yesterday! It was a Moss Graffiti Workshop for my guerrilla gardening group.

Following a brief slide show and discussion about moss, graffiti, and moss graffiti, we made a yummy moss ’starter’ (see the recipe after the jump). I had planned on
brainstorming potential tags and artwork ideas, but everyone was raring to go
and apply the frothy green mixture, so we just fanned out in small groups and
pretended we were hooligans.

The moss starter goes on pretty much clear; in the top photo, Tim is simply embellishing someone else’s handiwork.
Highly recommended project - I can’t wait to see how all our designs turn out!

To make a quick moss starter, you’ll need:

One or two clumps (about a small handful) of moss

2 cups of buttermilk

2 cups of water (or beer)

1/2 tsp. sugar

a blender container with lid

paintbrush

How to:
1. Crumble the moss into the blender - try to remove any pebbles or insects you find.
2. Add the sugar, buttermilk, water or beer, and blend at the lowest speed until it has the consistency of a milkshake (add more water if necessary).

3. Paint the mixture onto rocks, logs, pots or statuary, or simply pour it on the ground wherever you’d like your moss to grow.

OR: Create some living graffiti. Paint your chosen design on any shaded, damp vertical or horizontal surface. Porous, moisture-retentive surfaces work best (brick, wood, coarse concrete).
The moss starter method works best if it is kept moist until well-established. A
twice-weekly misting with a spray bottle is ideal.

Posted by Andrea Bellamy

*Vegan recipe?*My question was answered in the 17th and 18th comments on the post:

17. hey..im very excited about this possibility, especially because of spring winds blowing through. does anyone know of any vegan alternative though for the buttermilk? my guess is that the milk helps it stick to the wall and i don’t want to use acrylic paint as ive seen suggested elsewhere, so any thoughts? would a simple water/flour mixture work, perhaps? hope everyone’s out there painting in moss!
Comment by fuzzy — April 18, 2008 @ 6:58 pm

18. Hey Fuzzy - I believe the buttermilk acts as an agent to encourage the growth of moss spores… it is full of live bacteria. You could try beer instead. Good luck!
Comment by Andrea Bellamy — April 20, 2008 @ 12:13 pm