I like to pick up wooden serving dishes in various shapes and sizes at estate sales and thrift stores. Most of these plates and bowls look like they were brought home as souvenirs from travels abroad, flawless hardwood dishes with beautiful grains and no signs of ever being used. 

I am collaging my still lifes directly onto these small dishes while leaving parts of the natural wood surface exposed. By making the mighty trees and their symbolism - continuity, longevity, life, growth – part of the image, I am creating a sharp contrast to the stories I am telling which are literally still: They are about lives that were lost, taken, played with, forgotten, or devalued.

This is an ongoing series.