Cultivated bananas worldwide are in imminent danger of completely disappearing, damaged by fungal diseases. 500 million people, particularly in developing countries, depend on the fruit as a staple food. The global supply is threatened because industry growers have planted just one species, the Cavendish, across continents. The print on Plexi is a line drawing of a healthy banana and it’s inflorescence.

Duff – the decaying matter covering forest floors-- stores as much carbon at ground level as the trees do overhead. Duff plays a significant role in combating dangerous increases of carbon in the atmosphere, which results from climate change.

Mangroves absorb massive amounts of nutrients, thereby improving water purity and
providing crucial assistance to both land and water animals & plants. The mangrove groves protect coast lines from storm erosion. The print on the Plexi
appears at the bottom half of the painting as topographic lines from coastal nautical charts.

The author Collette wrote a story about her mother, Sido’s, epiphyllum which is a short-lived, night blooming cactus. Her story reminds us of life’s ephemeral nature and the precious choices we are often forced to make.

The survival of many undersea creatures depends on the steady ebb and flow of ocean
tides. Rising sea levels threaten the protective costal reefs and species that live in the intertidal zone. The shapes of underwater animals and plants are reminiscent of shoals during tidal changes. The print on the Plexiglas is of topographic lines from coastal nautical charts.

White death syndrome is decimating coral reefs worldwide. Coral colonies coexist with an algae which nourish the coral. Pollution and warming sea temperatures are killing the algae, thus starving the corals. Dead reefs, devoid of the life giving algae, turn a stark white. The Plexi print depicts microscopic zooxanthellae leaving the colonies dissipating as they rise.

Invasive insects, and slugs chew holes in the leaves of mature plants, weakening or killing them. The holes in the leaves were laser cut, The images painted after the cutting.

The Strangler Fig invades healthy hosts by casting seeds from the height of its branches which grow downward toward roots and trunks. After several years the encased host will die because it is deprived of the ability to turn sunlight into nutrients.

Invasive insects and slugs chew holes in the leaves of mature plants, weakening or killing them. The holes in the leaves were laser cut. The holes in the leaves were laser cut, The images painted after the cutting.

Because of the density of foliage blocking rain and light the floor of a rainforest can be a difficult place for seedlings to grow. Ficus aurea, The Strangler Fig, invades healthy host by casting seeds from the height of their branches. Roots and limbs grow downward in unlikely patterns. After several years the encased tree dies, deprived of their means of turning sunlight into nutrients.

Morphology, the biological study of the forms and structural relationships of living
Organisms, examines similarities and differences between creatures. The leaves of the Philodendron and UVA plants pictured here were both marked by insect trails and chewing. The print on Plexi is a layer of cell structures in teal lines.

Invasive insects, such as the Emerald Ash Borer, chew holes in the leaves of mature trees, defoliating the branches. After several summers of o damage the trees die, deprived of their means of turning sunlight into nutrients. The holes in the leaves were laser cut. The images painted after the cutting.

I encountered this wild, native thistle growing in the garden of a row house not far from my Baltimore home, a space that would usually be highly cultivated. While the owner values the plant because it will reseed itself, farmers use toxic pesticides to rid thistle from their fields. The print on Plexi is a scan of thistle seeds.

Invasive insects, such as the Emerald Ash Borer, chew holes in the leaves of mature trees, defoliating the branches. After several summers of damage the trees die, deprived of their means of turning sunlight into nutrients. The holes in the leaves were laser cut, The images painted after the cutting.

An Ancient plant with many human uses, canna are also being studied for their ability to eliminate undesirable pollutants in wetlands due to of their tolerance to contaminants.
The print on Plexi is a topographical map of farming land.

I attended a residency at The Studios of Key West in December ’17-January ’18, three months after destructive Hurricane Irma
ripped up the Florida Peninsula. Leaving piles of manufactured and plant debris throughout Southern FL. At Everglades NP we questioned a ranger about water flow through the park and creatures found there, asking specifically about Burmese Python. She replied “Oh, they’re there, but you’ll never see them.” It became a metaphor as we explored Key West;
some were at once obvious, some hidden in the background, intriguing or ugly, sometimes we saw them at once; others were revealed slowly later with a surprise.

Night blooming plants give off specific scents to attract night pollinating insects. Shapes of the moon’s phases, which all living things are subject to, are printed on the inside of the Plexiglas