I was never a sculptor. In 2003, when approached to make a life size bronze of a saint, I was
reluctant at first. I had always wanted to try something like this since those early years in Italy, and
after some research and soul searching, I decided to accept the challenge.

I was lucky, because there is an order of nuns devoted to St. Therese in San Diego. I was able to
establish a dialogue with them, and I learned a lot about this particular saint. They even provided
the appropriate apparel for my model. They were also open to the fact that I would be producing a
rather non-traditional sculpture, but one that would appeal to modern young people. I was also lucky
that St. Therese lived fairly recently, so I had photos of her. One of the wishes of the patron who
commissioned the project was that the sculpture actually look like her.

It was a challenging project for me, but in the end, everyone was happy.

We ended up casting five, the last going to Rome Italy, an interesting cycle for me.