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.

Anne Owen and Abigail Owen-Pontez strap into “Elee”, a car made of cutlery from American Airlines during the Everyones Art Car Parade May 14, 2005 in Houston, Texas. The silverware was purchased by Houston artist Mark Bradford when the airline had to convert to plasticware after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. The parade includes around 280 cars and is part of Art Car Weekend along with a street festival, parade, carnival, ball and other events. (Photo by Dave Einsel/Getty Images)

American actor and politician Ronald Reagan stands behind his wife, actor Jane Wyman, who sits down to dinner, circa 1940s. She is seated between two unidentified men, both in military uniforms adorned with Arms Qualification medals, the man on the right with Sharpshooter and Marksman badges and the man on the left, a Captain, with Expert and Sharpshooter badges. Reagan wears a military uniform with Cavalry branch insignia and Wyman wears a black dress with stranded pearl necklace, and a black hat with a veil. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Cosplay enthusiasts Alex Lawson, 20, attends the North East Manga and Anime Convention (NemaCon) dressed as Hunni Sempai at Middlesborough Town Hall on June 18, 2011 in Middlesbrough, England. Hundreds of Manga, Anime and Cosplay enthusiasts gathered for NemaCon 2011. Cosplay is short for Costume Play where players dress and perform roles from Japanese culture, Anime and Manga art characters. Many subcultures have also evolved inspired by video games, American cartoons and comics. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Photographer and former dancer Jesús Chapa-Malacara, head of art production company fotosjcm, announces the launch of Esprit de Corps, an innovative book of ballet photography unlike any seen before. The high-end art book, currently being independently financed and offered exclusively through a Kickstarter campaign, will feature world-class dancers from top ballet companies, including Michaela DePrince of Dutch National Ballet, Jared Matthews and Yuriko Kajiya of American Ballet Theatre, among others.

“The Volkswagen Microbus Concept Car (also known as the Volkswagen New Microbus and Volkswagen Microbus Concept) was a concept car recalling the original Volkswagen Microbus and first presented at the 2001 North American International Auto Show. The new Microbus was completely modern compared to its predecessor, featuring a 7-inch screen in the center console and a second ceiling-located 7-inch screen that allowed the driver to see behind the vehicle”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A Volkswagen Bulli concept vehicle is displayed during the New York International Auto Show April 21, 2011 in New York City. The New York Auto Show is one of the largest auto shows in the country. (Photo by Ramin Talaie/Getty Images)

Israeli magician Hezi Dean stands atop of a tower where he intends to remain for 35 hours, at Rabin square on May 18, 2011 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Dean started his most recent stunt Wednesday in an attempt to break the record of American illusionist and endurance artist David Blaine. Dean was raised on the 27-meters high tower Wednesday morning and aims to remain there with no food until Thursday evening, for a total of 35-hours. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty images)