I created this mirror for a home in Richmond, Virginia, around 35 years ago.

In the 1990s, I bought a resilvering company. People would bring us their old mirrors with faded or peeling silver, and we would strip them down to the transparent glass, polish the backs, and spray silver nitrate onto them. After drying, we painted two coats of backing.

What is so challenging about silvering mirrors is that there can be almost no contaminants. One small spec and everything you’ve done has to be removed and started over again.

One day, I had the idea that if I contaminated the solution before spraying, I could create an antique effect. After experimenting, I developed many shades of “antique mirrors.”

After beveling the glass for this mirror, I silvered the large glass in the center with my lightest solution to draw the individual in and make it functional. I used darker and darker solutions as I worked my way to the borders as if shade from my carved trees, giving a tunnel effect.

My patron suggested I use these tiles she had collected in our creation. I’m quite taken by how I stressed the roots, squeezing them between the tiles to give the whole project a lifelike effect.