Have you ever had the experience where you are doing a project or looking up a topic or a word and you find it so interesting and complex that it takes ten times longer than you expected. I call this the "Mushroom Factor" because the time involved grows and multiplies like a springtime fungus in an Oregon rain forest.
All research components of this Egyptian pigment project are fertile mushrooms mainly because of the monumental expanse of history, 5000 years approximately. Doing research for my Dutch 17th century pigment project did not feel as overwhelming because the Golden Age spanned a mere 150 years, and I had a previous base knowledge of this era. But Egypt is a different issue. Everything seems new, unfamiliar, and immense, not only the pigments and art but also the myths, gods, goddesses, pharaohs, and events which spanned so many centuries.
The problem is each topic is enormously interesting and I spend vast amounts of time reading about a certain god which leads to another dynasty or another fable or a twist on the previous story. For instance, did you know there were seven Cleopatras? Prior to this project, this fact was unknown to me. The famous one from the movies was the seventh and last.
I'm sure I have a forest full of rapidly propagating mushrooms. What are your personal experiences with those pesky fungi?
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