U.S. Paralympic Project

Celebrating the Beauty and Strength of People with Disabilities Through Art

Perhaps you've felt as captivated and thrilled as I have since childhood while watching spectacular moments in Olympic competition. The talent, athleticism and determined mindset of the competitors are awe inspiring, as is the convening of different cultures from around the world. Yet never have I felt as thrilled or gratified as I have while creating sculptures with Paralympians for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Visitor Center in Colorado Springs. 

About two years ago, I had visions of a new way to make art, a process that combines my love of sculpting, painting and portraying humanity, with an immediate medium of expression: painted sculptures formed directly from fabric draped over the bodies of posed models. It took a year to find the courage to invent my formula and method, build a body of new work and then introduce and share it with the art world. 

My first opportunity to create and exhibit my unique sculptures, and my first public art, was in 2018 with Colorado Ballet at its Armstrong Center for Dance. It was and is a great honor and pleasure to create with those dancers! During that time, I had the privilege getting to know several persons with disabilities. I started thinking about how fascinating it could be to juxtapose sculptures of them alongside the sculptures ballet dancers to show the strength and beauty of the human form in all of its diversity. This would help me bring together two of my passions: art and inclusivity. I just needed to connect with Paralympic athletes who could model and collaborate with me.

Meet the Paralympians

Fortunately my answer came when I was connected with U.S. Paralympic athletes. A wonderful Denver gallery owner and photographer, Robert Anderson, suggested that I contact the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center. Because my art was a strong match for the mission of its Training Center Visitor Center in Colorado Springs, they got back to me immediately. 

Sophia Herzog • Silver Medalist • 2x World Champion • Breaststroke

Sophia Herzog

While waiting there for my first meeting, I happened to meet Sophia Herzog, the multi-medalist and world record-holding swimmer in the Para breaststroke – and a tour guide at the center. She became my first Paralympian art model and unexpectedly opened a huge door to the world of Paralympians and people with disabilities. She also has a strongly shaped figure that would show beautifully in the art.

After Sophia's painted sculpture was completed, I had the pleasure of creating art with Paralympian hand-cyclist Brandon Lyons and Para triathlete/cyclist Mohamed Lahna. 

 As I talked with and learned from these athletes, I started to see some trends. Here are some common characteristics that I discovered in them:

Mohamed Lahna • 4 x Gold Medalist • Triathlete and Cyclist

 1.    They must train as hard, if not harder, and have a mindset as strong as any Olympic or professional athlete. Watch Sophia workout Watch Mohamed workout Watch Brandon workout

2.    They are more comfortable in their skin than anyone I know (including myself). They are also very outgoing and welcoming. 

3.    The primary reason for their athletic pursuit is not to prove something to others or promote a cause, but for the sheer joy of accomplishment and competition. That, and the opportunity to travel internationally. 

4.    They “pay it forward” by sharing their experiences, participating in disability events, fulfilling Visitor Center requests and more. Besides training, competing and volunteering, Mo Lahna also parents his young children and  Sophia is finishing a college degree. 

I enjoyed being around them, and I’m hoping their superb attitude and personalities will rub off on me. And it was nice to notice some characteristics we have in common: a clear vision of what we want to accomplish, an attraction to big challenges, courage to put ourselves out there, unstoppable determination, and with Sophia, a shared enjoyment of making art. To know Sophia, Brandon and Mohamed is to love them. I will always treasure the memories of working with them.

The Training Center Visitor Center Promotes Disability Awareness

Another aspect of this project that I was pleasantly surprised by is the role the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee plays in promoting inclusion, support and awareness of issues around living with disabilities. Leading by example, they recently added "Paralympic" to their name to acknowledge the equality – and equal quality – of those athletes. That act means a lot to the Paralympians and all persons with disabilities. 

The USOPC also employs Paralympians such as Sophia Herzog and other persons with disabilities to be receptionists and tour guides at the Visitor Center. This gives people who might not otherwise interact with Paralympians or anyone with disabilities an opportunity to do so.  What a marvelous way to get people  interacting with people they might otherwise avoid. It adds a richness and connection to the tour experience while exemplifying inclusion. 

Creating the Art 

As I thought about how best to approach the Paralympian project, I decided that I had to make it more pictorial than any of my previous work.  Yet the sculptures could not be mere boring replicas. These sculptures had to look real enough for viewers to really see and connect with the athletes, yet artistic enough to leave some things to the imaginations of the viewers. The new artistic challenge in this pictorial approach was painting 3D figures. What looks correct from the front view can look completely wrong from a side view or vice versa. I worked fastidiously to get the balance right, and was relieved that I was able to do it. 

The best endorsement we've received is when Sophia and I were carrying her  sculpture into the Visitor Center. People in the parking lot did a double take and wandered over, exclaiming, "What is that?" They followed us inside along with other curious visitors who were on their way out. When we mounted it temporarily on an easel, all were absolutely fascinated and wanted to take and share lots of pictures of us with the art. At that moment, we knew the project would be a hit!

Goals

Brandon Lyons • US Paralympic Cycling Team • 2019 World Champion qualifier • getting into his custom-fitted hand cycle

I’m delighted that the center has installed three sculptures in the visitor center, and I hope that this project opens up opportunities for me to create similar projects featuring people with disabilities. I also hope to find a way to use my art to support athlete Brandon Lyons' goal to become part of the clinical trials for epidural stimulation so that he and thousands of others with spinal cord injuries can regain use of their entire bodies. 

Lastly, I hope to attend the 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games so I can cheer on my Paralympian art teammates. I've become hooked on Paralympic competition – locally, nationally and the big one.

Join Us

As I worked with the talented USOPTC and former Sesame Street Live technician, Michael Lucas, to install the legacy Paralympian sculptures at the entrance to the Visitor Center amphitheater, I was moved by hearing the soaring Olympic symphonic theme music, plus recorded historical announcers and crowd-cheering playing inside the circular surround-sound-and-movie theater. 

At that moment I realized that the Paralympian's accomplishments and victories are everyone’s  victory. They are a shining light in how far our society has come with inclusiveness and how much we can still gain. Expanding inclusiveness gives us all the satisfaction of winning big. 

I encourage you to visit the free U.S. Olympic Training Center so you also may enjoy the wonderful experience that I've had there.  And while you're at it, buy one or more Paralympics T-shirts, etc. online. Let's wear it proudly to share and show our support for these incomparable athletes.

Follow the athletes and their mission on Instagram @USParalympics

Follow the conversation #SculptingPara #SculptingSophia #SculptingBrandon #Sculpting Mohamed

Learn more from my individual Paralympian model “News” blogs and see the sculptures on my “Art” page.

Sculpting Paralympian Mohamed Lahna

A triathlon is perhaps the most difficult physical challenge conceivable, but can you imagine doing consecutive distance swimming, cycling and running with only one leg? 

While contemplating a third Paralympian to feature in my U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Visitor Center series in Colorado Springs, I imagined portraying an athlete who runs with a prosthetic blade. Other Paralympic athletes highly recommended their friend Mohamed Lahna, a champion triathlete who, after the triathlon was dropped from Paralympic competition, joined the U.S. Paralympic Cycling Team. 

Mo was born in Casablanca, Morocco without a right femur or a leg connection to his hip. His tiny foot is where his knee should be. Because of Mo's condition, he was not allowed to participate in school sports. Although he felt sad and frustrated, this discouraging situation only fired his ambition to participate in sports at the highest level. 

His first opportunity came at age 11 when Mo's father introduced him to a Moroccan Paralympic swimmer who mentored Mo. He did not know yet that he would one day swim the Strait of Gibraltar. At age 20, he was fitted with his first real prosthetic. Mo rode a bike for the first time at age 25 and crossed the Atlas Mountains on it the following year. At 27 he ran for the first time and competed in a marathon a few months later. In 2014, Mohamed was the first adaptive athlete to complete the Norseman Xtreme Triathlon. Mohamed has won four gold medals to date as well as 13 podium finishes and was ranked fourth in the world as a Paralympic triathlete.  After winning the bronze medal for Morocco in the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, Mo joined the USA Paralympic Triathlon Team so he could get the best training possible. 

Photo credit: Genki Yamashita

Besides being super-athletic, highly competitive, and exceptionally friendly, Mohamed also excels at parenting. His two young boys accompanied him to my studio for his sculpture-forming session and the  morning cycle training he did before he arrived. The boys calmly sat while munching on a hearty snack. Later, as they became bored, each curled up to nap in their chairs. They were far more patient than most adults! It was quite apparent to my assistant and me the deep, loving and understanding relationship between father and sons. Mo's boys acceptingly followed his simple instructions and requests delivered with a soft but firm voice and steady gaze. 

Like my other Paralympic art models, Sophia Herzog and Brandon Lyons, I found Mo to be very outgoing, generous, humble and determined. His size and physique is that of a muscular Olympic gymnast. My only concern in creating a sculpture with Mo was my ability to incorporate his prosthetic running blade within the sculpture, without creating confusion for the viewer. But for Mo and me, it was definitely worth giving it our best effort. Happily, the uncommon form of Mo's blade turned out to be a fascinating feature, enticing the viewer and spurring curiosity. Mo is obviously running fast, yet there is something mechanical and strikingly different about his front leg. 

Mo's sculpture is even more fascinating to walk around in person. You can see his powerful body and speed emerging from its surrounding sculpted landscape. Yet the artwork also expresses itself as a lively, colorful painting. I am delighted and gratified to know Mohamed Lahna and to share his story with you through my art. Let's cheer him on as he pursues Gold for his beloved adopted country, U.S.A., in Tokyo 2020!

 You can learn more from Mohamed's website (watch the videos!), Team webpage and Triathlon Profile webpage.

 Follow the conversation #SculptingMohamed #SculptingPara 

 Follow the athletes and their mission on Instagram @USParalympics 

Sculpting Paralympian Brandon Lyons

As I inquired about the next Paralympic model for my United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee Visitor Center art project, Brandon Lyons was ecstatically recommended: “You should see him do endless pull-ups in his wheelchair!” “He’s an animal!” “Yeah, he’d be great!” Little did I know how amazing and beautiful Brandon and his story would be. 

Brandon’s Para journey began Memorial Day of 2014, at the age 24. Brandon dove off a shallow pier and the resulting accident caused paralysis below his chest. After this terrifying event (including a problem with the helicopter en route to the hospital) and all-consuming rehabilitation work, Brandon was back to his job at Ernst & Young within four months. 

In 2016, Brandon discovered the joy of handcycling. In 2017, he qualified for the USA Paralympic Cycling team and became a resident of the Olympic & Paralympic Training Center (OPTC). Currently, he’s pedaling hard to win gold at Tokyo in 2020 and competing in fabulous, faraway places like Italy along the way.

I was very pleased and honored when Brandon eagerly agreed to my invitation to create a sculpture with him. I was even more delighted when I discovered how wonderful he is to work with and what a pleasure he is to know. The following Saturday, on his way to his weekly cycle training in the nearby foothills, Brandon stopped by my studio so we could design his art. When I went out to meet and assist him in the parking lot, Brandon had already gotten himself into his wheelchair, taken his handcycle out of his car, grabbed his backpack and was ready to go.

Brandon and others at the O&PTC wanted me to cast him posed on his cycle. I’d never cast anything that large, let alone a figure combined with a machine or device, so I wasn’t sure it could work. I had something else in mind but wanted to at least give their vision a try. When I stepped back to look at the form of this first design, I was elated. It conveyed the energy, power and speed of Brandon, man and machine. . 

After the sculpture was quickly formed, hardened, and removed from Brandon, we were awed by its size and physical detail. However, as the minutes passed, it started to slowly collapse from its height and weight, like the Wicked Witch melting to the floor. I was horrified but still determined. I could not let my Paralympic subjects down by giving up. 

I was later able to resurrect the structure mostly to its original form. It was still powerful and fascinating, and Brandon's figure emerged through it. But was it good enough? Could it still connect viewers to Brandon and inspire them with his story? Brandon was leaving soon for a ten-day competition trip. If I was to meet my deadline and have it installed at the USOC Visitor Center by the fifth anniversary of Brandon's paralyzing accident, there would be no time to recast. 

I invited many people who were unfamiliar with Brandon's project to look at it so I could study their response. Thankfully, the look on their faces confirmed that this artwork was more than sufficient to fulfill its purpose. For some who were familiar with my art, it was their favorite piece. Accidents and imperfections can be advantageous in art, allowing the mind's eye to imagine and invent. 

I wondered at the serendipity of it all – Brandon overcoming his permanent disability to participate fully in life, and his sculpture’s once perfect form now altered but still beautifully compelling. I also wondered at how his feet disappeared from the structure, which curiously illustrates that this cyclist cannot use his legs. You likely wouldn't notice this about the sculpture unless it was pointed out, just like I now only see Brandon's vast abilities, not his disability nor wheelchair. 

The resulting artwork of Brandon reminds me that my art is often a painting as much as it is a sculpture. Its form comes alive with big brush stokes and small, reflective highlights. As you walk around it, stepping closer and away, it seemingly transforms – like getting to know a person after seeing a first visual impression.  

When we returned to his car after that first design session, Brandon surprised me again by flinging open and holding the door for me as he allowed me to pull his precious, custom-fitted handcycle out of the studio. He could have managed to do this all himself, but just like making art, it was more gratifying for us to work together. 

Click hear to watch news coverage of Brandon’s Sculpture unveiling.

Learn more about Brandon at BrandonMLyons.wixsite.com and TeamUSA.org and @iron.lyons

Follow the conversation at #Sculpting Para #SculptingBrandon

P.S. My ultimate goal is to help fund Brandons’ Epidural Stimulation Trial after Tokyo 2020. This is his next 5-year goal – to restore the functioning of his full body, thereby advancing treatment for all others facing spinal cord injuries. I will create a new work of art for any person or entity wishing to sponsor Brandon’s recovery effort. 

Sculpting Paralympian Sophia Herzog

With a Blues Brothers “Mission-from-God!” determination, I’ve been seeking opportunities to create beautiful art of people that also portray unique physiques and appearance. This comes from my passion to counter the overwhelming number of pervasive images depicting what “ideal” people should look like. These visual messages promote fear over love – fear of being imperfect, unlovable, and outside the norm. Instead, wouldn't life be more interesting if, for example, Victoria’s Secret’s annual TV special featured women of all sizes,shapes, and hair styles?

Simultaneously, people have been suggesting to me for months that they’d like to see my art cast from many types of athletes besides ballerinas. The photographer and owner of Robert Anderson Gallery suggested contacting the nearby US Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC). Flashbulb! This potential opportunity would fulfill my desire to portray both athletic bodies and uncommon bodies – by making art of Paralympians.

The USOPC saw my art as a perfect match for their Colorado Springs Training Campus Visitor Center. Although the USOPC is inundated with proposals from artists and photographers, they responded quickly to my outreach. I was invited to discuss my project while enjoying a behind-the-scenes tour and lunch at the athletes’ cafeteria. The greatest gift of that visit was meeting Sophia Herzog.

I first noticed Sophia when I approached the Center’s reception counter, and again as she walked past me. Her body looked super-strong, beautifully curvaceous and intriguingly unusual. While introducing myself, I learned Sophia is an USOC Paralympic swimmer, silver medalist, and two-time World Champion in the breast stroke. (Since then, she has broken the World Record for the 200m race.) Sophia is also finishing her degree with a Broadcast-Business major while training for her final race in Tokyo 2020. Whew!

I learned later that we share many interests and similarities, including a love for making art. I have long-wanted to create figurative art that features water, so I invited Sophia to be my first USOC model to cast. Because of her love for making art, I also to assist me with other steps in creating the artwork. From working with Sophia, I sensed that she gives her all to any project she takes on. She immediately accepted my invitation to participate and came to my studio

Sophia is decidedly self-confident and proud of her unique figure. For example, when we picked up lunch at a nearby Chinese buffet, the restaurant was packed with young families. Sophia has a kind of dwarfism called achondroplasia, and I wondered how the kids would react to seeing Sophia’s 48” height and short arms and legs. I wondered how Sophia would feel and respond, even though she had probably encountered this situation on a daily basis as far back as she could remember. I was the one who was concerned and without such experience. Sophia went about the buffet just the same as I did. Many customers did a slight double-take, then looked away. Kids spun around and bumped their parents or another child with a quizzical look on their faces. Then all went back to selecting their food. 

This situation illustrates the commitment Sophia and I share to exemplify inclusion of everyone into all aspects of society, with our unique abilities and endeavors. Because of Sophia, these families could have a conversation about looking different and being similar. (Little did they know of her athletic accomplishments!) The more we see and interact, the more familiar and we become.

I saw one of my favorite slogans on the t-shirt of a man seated in his wheelchair: “Don’t Dis My Abilities.” All I can see in Sophia and the persons I know facing disabilities is superior capabilities in most every aspect of life. How is it that Sophia could ever be considered “disabled?” She could swim circles around me, a former lifeguard. 

Sophia faces challenges that other swimmers don’t face. She has to do maybe twice as many kicks and strokes to complete her races. She recently had two knee surgeries – the breast stroke whip-kick is especially hard on knee joints. At the same time,  Sophia’s body is more suited than mine to some tasks. For example, she used both her hands and legs to grip and open a large gesso container in my studio while I could only wrestle the lid with my hands. But perhaps Sophia's greatest challenge was believing she could put herself out there on the world stage to compete and excel.

Sophia’s sculpture plus two more works were installed at the USOC Visitors Center in July 2019. We invite you to experience this emotionally compelling art and the athletes it represents. And if you’re lucky, you’ll get to take a fascinating tour of the entire Center  with Sophia as your tour guide.

Follow the conversation #SculptingSophia #SculptingPara

Follow Sophia’s journey on Instagram @SophiaHerzog and visit her Team webpage

Follow the athletes and their mission on Instagram @USParalympics