This project was achieved in 14 months of intensive hands on work. I have never taken a sculpture course and learned by sculpting life sized lounging couples on the beach. Each time watching as all traces were washed away with the tide. Finally I was through with temporary endeavors, and decided to do a wall relief. " The Creation Of Adam" a portion of the center of the Sistine Chapel, by Michelangelo has always been a favorite wall fresco of mine and after studying Michelangelo's quandary about being a sculptor not a painter, I felt this was made to be released from a flat wall into a three dimensional sculptured work. Not knowing the magnitude of the job I had given myself I was thrust into a journey of discovery and pleasure This piece took 350 pounds of white art clay to complete the center portion. Many people said this was not the clay for large pieces and this couldn't be done, but I'm very stubborn! Starting on Easter weekend as Charlton Heston played in the PBS drama of "The Agony And The Ecstasy" 'which was to me another sign that this was meant to be. After completing the rough first study, the piece was dried very slowly to dissuade any curling of the thinner sections, taking 6 months. My family kindly avoided falling into or dropping any object on the piece as it dried on my dining room floor. Weekly, fine tuning as it dried. At one point cutting it in half and moving Adam further away from the outstretched hand of God. Then came the day to cut the 3 1/2 foot by 6 1/2 foot relief into 20 pieces. There was a great deal of planning involved in this step. Cutting without loosing the aesthetic value and making every effort to mimic some of the cracks in the fresco ceiling in Rome. Cutting enabled me to turn and dry both sides until they reached the leather stage. Then safely transporting the pieces to the kiln at the Naugatuck Valley Community Technical College, I fired them. During the firing process there were a few mishaps to be taken care of and the project was ready to paint. For the frame I painted an acrylic frame with representations of members of my family. This became as fulfilling if not more personal to me than the sculpture itself. The general theme of good winning over evil mirrors the Last Judgement section of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling.. Upon completion the NVCTC College awarded me an achievement in art certificate during honors night and I was asked to have the piece shown at graduation. There the speaker was so moved by the piece he changed his speech to ask the graduates not just to Be but to Do and used me as the example to follow. This was a very great compliment. I am still working towards my certificate in Fine Arts, with a 4.0 average through out all my courses. Now, I can look at pride and wonder at the SCULPTURE that I call"THE JOURNEY". Future plans for its resting-place are at this point unsure; my biggest dream is to show this in a museum.

This piece measures 6 feet 4 inches high by 8 feet 4 inches wide and weighs approx. 600 pounds. Completion date was May,1997