I told him and, without pause, he asked, “Somers, what do you do?” I said that I was going to be a sculptor. This fellow grabbed my shirt with intense enthusiasm and said, ”Somers, you either are a sculptor, or you’re not.” Without hesitation, I replied to Paul, “Well then, I am a sculptor.” I believe that’s when I truly became a sculptor.

   I taught at that college with Paul for the next several years, until I could support myself with sales of my own sculpture. I lived in warehouses and home-built studios with corrugated fiberglass roofs. The microwave oven on top of the refrigerator was the kitchen and stone dust coated everything.

   By 1990 it was time for a move, and so I loaded 14 tons of tools, stone and possessions and headed to Nashville, Tennessee for an encounter with my heritage.

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