" I let the wood speak to me. Mushrooms aren't straight, so I like to follow the curves of the wood. I've never found a perfect morel in my life. I like finding and carving the big, gnarly ones. " - Ken Anderson Top: To achieve high levels of detail on his wooden morels, Ken switches between nine professional Dremel bits. Depending on the size, he can spend up to two hours carving a morel's signature honeycomb top. Center: Some mornings Ken knocks out five or six basic mushroom shapes. He uses an old kitchen knife for this first round of carving. " I'm old, so how many I do depends on how many times I have to stop due to my arthritis, " he says. Bottom: Each step of the process makes the mushroom look more realistic. For the mushroom on the right, Ken has colored the top with dye and carved the stem to resemble a freshly picked morel. MAY 2024 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 15http://www.RURALMISSOURI.COOP