Artist Robert Mickelson is an expert sculptor whose medium of choice happens to be glass. There's something so pure and serene about glass. Perhaps it's the material's transparency coupled with its fragility. Whatever it may be, Mickelson knows how to accentuate the element's most appealing qualities. Each of his life-like sculptural pieces exude realism with a refined quality.

An employee of Paris city Hall removes padlocks clipped by lovers on the fence of the Pont des Arts over the River Seine in Paris, December 9, 2014. For years, visiting couples have hung brass padlocks on the iron grills lining the city's bridges to symbolise their undying love – they write their names on the locks, then toss the key into the Seine below. About 700,000 love locks are added every few months and Paris officials say they are damaging the bridges and threatening safety because of the added weight. (Photo by Philippe Wojazer/Reuters)

At the end of a six-year relationship, photographer Laura Stevens needed to find a creative, external outlet for all the complicated feelings she was processing internally. “Another November” is the end product, a photo series that aims to mirror those agonizing emotions that Stevens felt at the time of the breakup – and the subsequent healing process. Here: “Jessica” is photographed at her Paris home in this scene staged by photographer Laura Stevens. (Photo by Laura Stevens)

A participant runs through foam during the Love Foam Run race in Hsinchu, Taiwan May 29, 2016. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Artist Jeff Uitto creates intricate sculptures from driftwood he finds along the coast of Washington. Uitto has sculpted wild horses, soaring eagles, and even a giraffe out of salvaged tree branches. But his work is more than giant animal sculptures. Uitto also has a clear talent for creating beautiful home furniture from driftwood. Finding the right piece of driftwood can take months, and the sculpting can take years.

Photo: A horse sculpture entirely made from driftwood by artist Jeffro Uitto. (Photo by Jeff Uitto/Caters News)

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.

French sculptor Pierre Matter was born in 1964. “A mystical child, then a tormented teenager, he studied mathematics half-heartedly. It was only logical that he headed naturally, though initially in an erratic manner, for the mysterious universe of artistic creation. His slow progression in this field led him to try out many kinds of expression and material, from oil to gouache to ink, from comic strips to canvas, and also bas-relief in stone.”

Susan Lordi's art reflects our relationships with people and the world around us. Her keen observation of the human form is further inspired by dance, art history, nature, and personal experiences with family and friends. These influences are revealed in her Willow Tree® sculptures, from which emotion is communicated through gestures only.