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.

His majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (L), 31, smiles at his bride during the purification marriage ceremony to Queen Jetsun Pema, 21, in the historical Punakha Dzong on October 13, 2011 in Punakha, Bhutan. The Dzong is the same venue that hosted the King's historic coronation ceremony in 2008. The Oxford-educated king is popular in the country and the ceremony will be followed by celebration in the capital and countryside. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

In this Thursday, March 28, 2019, photo, a “golden giant burger” is served at a restaurant of Hotel Grand Hyatt Tokyo in Tokyo. The $900 wagyu (Japanese-produced beef) burger was unveiled to commemorate the era change. What’s in a name? Quite a lot if you’re a Japanese citizen awaiting the official announcement Monday, April 1, 2019 of what the soon-to-be-installed new emperor’s next era will be called. It’s a proclamation that has happened only twice in nearly a century, and the new name will follow Emperor Naruhito, after his May 1 investiture, for the duration of his rule, attaching itself to much of what happens in Japan. (Photo by Kyodo News via AP Photo)

Today is what is known as the equilux and it happens when day and night are equal and occurs a few days before the spring equinox, and a few days after the autumn equinox. What appears to be a floating leaf is actually a stray sticking to a wet car windshield in a park in Scaggsville, Maryland on September 25, 2024. Today sunrise was at 7:02am and sunset took place at 7:02pm. The green and orange colored leaf (about half for each color) seems to represent the transition from Summer to Fall. (Photo by Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

In this Tuesday, July 29, 2014, photo, Syrian refugee Samah, 5, poses for a picture at Zaatari refugee camp, near the Syrian border, in Mafraq, Jordan. More than 2.8 million Syrian children inside and outside the country – nearly half the school-aged population – cannot get an education because of the devastation from the civil war, according to the U.N. children's agency, UNICEF. That number is likely higher, as UNICEF can't count the children whose parents didn't register with the United Nations refugee agency. (Photo by Muhammed Muheisen/AP Photo)

Participants hang from ropes as they learn how to use safety gears at an experience centre for construction safety training in Beijing, September 5, 2014. The centre which opened in June 2014 was established to educate workers about construction safety. According to the centre, about 1,000 construction workers undergo 3-hour classes which comprises of 33 modules every month. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

“Basunga”. Basunga (3 weeks-old newborn with albinism) is happily sleeping with his cousin. For now, he does not yet realize the difficulties he will face to integrate into the Congolese society as a PWA. The success of his integration will greatly depends of how he accepts himself and his skin condition a and how educated he will be. Photo location: Kinshasa, Congo RDC. (Photo and caption by Patricia Willocq/National Geographic Photo Contest)