A kangaroo and joey are seen in a burnt forest on Kangaroo Island, south west of Adelaide on January 16, 2020. Australia’s continuing bushfire crisis has taken an enormous toll on wildlife, with huge numbers of mammals, birds, reptiles, insects and other species killed. (Photo by Jo-Anne McArthur/Weanimals)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smiles as he attends a flight training session by female fighter pilots Jo Kum Hyang and Rim Sol in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 22, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/KCNA/Antara Foto)

A Hot air balloon is seen at the Cup Hot Air event during the Air Sports festival titled “70 Years of Peaceful Sky” in Minsk, Belarus July 18, 2015. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

In this aerial photo taken on March 28, 2019 a hot air balloon flies over Putrajaya during the international hot air balloon festival in Putrajaya, Malaysia. (Photo by Mohd Rasfan/AFP Photo)

A hot air balloon flies close to the ground in the Jezreel Valley in northern Israel during an international hot air balloon festival October 14, 2014. (Photo by Nir Elias/Reuters)

Dutch driver Hans Jos Liefhebber on his KTM drives next to a seal during the fifth stage of the 2018 Dakar Rally, between San Juan de Marcona and Arequipa, on the beach of Puerto Lomas, Peru, 10 January 2018. The 2018 Dakar says goodbye to the dunes with its fifth and final stage over the Peruvian desert and begins to take height as it enters the Andean mountain range, heading for Bolivia. (Photo by David Fernandez/EPA/EFE)

Taronga Zoo's elephant baby, as yet unnamed, is seen at Taronga Zoo on March 12, 2010 in Sydney, Australia. The Asian Elephant calf has continued to make progress following a protracted labour that spanned six days. The calf was originally believed to have died in the womb during labour but surprised veterinarians and zoo staff with an unexpected delivery early Wednesday morning. (Photo by Bobby-Jo Vial/Taronga Zoo via Getty Images)

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.