Screwdrivers on a Work Bench

My dad’s screwdrivers came in every size and shape—wooden handles, plastic handles, long shafts, short ones, Phillips and flatheads. Here I arranged a collection of them loosely across one of his wooden workbenches, letting the handles pile together while the shafts reach out in every direction.

There is something familiar to me in their mismatched, well-used condition. My dad’s garage was never especially organized; there were always tools out and projects underway. Spending time with these screwdrivers in my studio let me return to a little of that wonderful disorder and to the place where I had spent so many hours with him.

Part of Donna Dufault’s Tool Project, a collection of 19 black-and-white still life photographs created in 2002 using tools from her late father’s garage.