American sculptor Michael Alfano has been sculpting for over fifteen years. A native of New York, he now lives and works in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. His major influences are Salvador Dali, Jo Davidson, and Jean-Antoine Houdon, as well as Buddhist, Taoist, Sufi and other eastern philosophy and literature. He first studied at the Art Students League of New York, with an emphasis on life-size sculpture from the model. His formal education continued at Boston University and was augmented by internships with several prominent sculptors.

Trucks loaded with tree trunks are burned by agents of the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, or Ibama, during an operation to combat illegal mining and logging, in the municipality of Novo Progresso, Para State, northern Brazil, November 11, 2016. When able to do their job, agents of the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, or Ibama, are decisive, punishing illegal loggers on the spot. Nearly twice the size of India, the Amazon absorbs an estimated 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, making its preservation vital in the fight to halt global warming. (Photo by Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters)

A mermaid poses under water during a shoot with photographer Brett Stanley during MerMagic Con at the Freedom Aquatic Center in Manassas, Virginia on August 7, 2021. MerMagic Con is advertised as the largest Mermaid convention in the world. Some parts of the convention are based on modeling and looks like the Miss Mermaid USA Pageant. The Society of Fat Mermaids looks to bring together plus size people and promote the idea that anyone can become a mermaid. Becoming a mermaid is not cheap, most merfolk spend thousands of dollars on their tail and outfit. Most tails are custom made out of silicone and others are foam and fabric. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso/AFP Photo)

Twenty five life-size donkeys have been given pride of place in St Paul's Cathedral as part of an interfaith exhibition. They've been painted by Egyptian and Western artists, to show solidarity for the people of Egypt. Photo: Artist painted donkey statues are displayed in the “Caravan” exhibition on August 30, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid)

Imagine living in the sea where it is permanently dark, cold, and food is hard to find. For many animals at depth, it may be weeks to months between meals. If you find something to eat, you have to hang on to it. This is why so many deep-sea fishes have lots of big teeth. This dragonfish, spotted off the coast of Australia, even has teeth on its tongue. They would be terrifying animals ... if they weren’t the size of a banana. (Photo by Julian Finn/Museum Victoria)

“The Airbus A300-600ST (Super Transporter) or Beluga, is a version of the standard A300-600 wide-body airliner modified to carry aircraft parts and over-sized or awkward cargo. It was officially called the Super Transporter at first, but the name Beluga became popular and has now been officially adopted”. – Wikipedia

Photo: The first Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft wing set is loaded on to a giant Beluga Airbus aircraft for transit to Bremen on February 25, 2009 in Broughton, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

A truck lays overturned onto a car following strong winds at a Kurnell industrial park after a rare tornado hit the Sydney suburb December 16, 2015. The tornado hit Sydney on Wednesday with destructive winds above 200 km an hour (125 mph) and cricket ball-sized hail, bringing down trees and power lines, tearing off roofs, overturning vehicles and causing flash flooding. (Photo by Jason Reed/Reuters)

A dead red-tailed monkey hangs by its tail above the ground, in order to keep it away from ants, in the forest near the city of Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of the Congo, April 5, 2019. Bushmeat hunters are emptying Central Africa's forests at a high rate, researchers say. A growing appetite for wild meat in cities has ramped up the scale of hunting. Research shows around 6 million tonnes of bushmeat are sourced annually from the Congo Basin, whose forest spans across six countries and is second in size only to the Amazon. (Photo by Thomas Nicolon/Reuters)