An artist in Penticton is getting pieces ready to participate in a worldwide art treasure hunt for the second year in a row, and he is encouraging other artists to participate in the fun.

Mike Nash creates intricate works of art out of glass at his home studio called Kiss My Glass Art Studio, with some pieces taking hundreds of hours to complete.

Last year, he participated in the Game of Shrooms, an annual art-n-seek event where artists from all over the world hide original mushroom-themed art works in public places, then give hints on social media for others to find them for keeps.

Nash put out 19 glass mushrooms last year he values at three or four hundred dollars at his favourite spots in Penticton, including at a koi pond, on Munson Mountain and at other art galleries. He said he posted about it on social media and it blew up.

“It instantly started conversations, literally thousands of people were all over my page,” he said. “I had people saying there were coming to Penticton, planning holidays around my game. It was so much fun and I made so many relationships.”

Global art game inspires Penticton artist to give treasures to strangers | iNFOnews.ca — This whimsical stained glass mushroom was made by Penticton artist Mike Nash. SUBMITTED/Mike Nash

The glass treasures were found pretty quickly.

This year, Nash is creating smaller, yet still beautiful pieces and hiding four times as many. The glass mushrooms are on little sculptures with driftwood and crystals.

“I like to add a little flair to them, I don’t want to just put a piece of glass out there, it has to be something someone will be proud to put on their coffee table,” Nash said. “People ask why I’d waste so many thousands of dollars of art for nothing, but it isn’t for nothing. I’ve been able to build relationships and get other artists onboard.”

Nash’s history with art includes doing community theatre and building theatre sets. He has spent a couple of decades working with glass as an automotive glass installer. He started making glass art six years ago as a creative outlet.

“Making glass is boring, it’s super time consuming but when it’s done and I get to turn into something else, that’s when it’s really fun for me,” he said. “I’ll make it into a medieval throne chair or coffee table, something different than just a piece that hangs in the window. My house is full of awesome art.”

According to Leafmagazines.com, Game of Shrooms began unintentionally by a multi-talented artist in New York, Daniel Seifert in 2019. He started hiding mushrooms as a form of art therapy following a bout of depression, after growing up painting ceramic mushrooms with his grandmother and hiding them around her property. More people followed suite, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to cheer everyone up, and the movement has since travelled world-wide.

Nash was the first artist in the Thompson-Okanagan region to sign up for the game last year and roughly a dozen joined in. This year, he is hoping more will participate.

“It takes two seconds to sign up, you put your name and website or handle and location, and you get a pin put on a map,” he said. “When June gets here there’ll be an unbelievable amount of pins, people all over the world are playing. Since playing the game more people have ordered my art, it has paid for itself. The best part about it is the friendships I’ve made.”

The next Game of Shrooms happens on June 13. Go here to sign up or check out the artists who are participating.

Go here to follow Nash on his Facebook page, Kiss My Glass Art Studio.