American rapper and songwriter Lil' Kim performs as she presents a creation from The Blonds Autumn/Winter 2019 collection during New York Fashion Week in New York, U.S. on February 12, 2019. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

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)

Inmates are seen at the transgender gallery in La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama February 3, 2016. Inmates of La Joya prison on the outskirts of Panama City are housed in makeshift cells amid heavy overcrowding, living in grimy conditions and with limited medical attention. Many prisoners in the Central American nation languish for years without being sentenced. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)

People try to board a goverment bus during the second day of a suspension of public transport services in Apopa, El Salvador July 28, 2015. Violent gangs in El Salvador ordered bus drivers to strike on Monday in a conflict that has killed six people and left thousands of commuters stranded on the streets of the Central American capital, police and bus company officials said. (Photo by Jose Cabezas/Reuters)