African Sese Wood Mask with Beige and Black Rings from Ghana, "Baluba Rings"

"I was born on May 5, 1981, in Accra. My friends say I am a truthful, hardworking and honest person.

"It took a painful experience for me to get into art. I had to drop out of school after my dad passed on. My mum, who was not working at that moment, was faced with the challenge of taking care of us. I told myself I would find a job to help keep my younger siblings in school. And I did. I worked as an errand boy for art workshops in our neighborhood and used the tips I got for running errands to buy food for my brothers and sisters.

"I was fascinated by the way the workers could carve beautiful designs out of wood. I was willing to learn a trade to be able to earn money and thus achieve my goal of helping my family. So when I was given the opportunity to try my hands with some pieces of wood, I was happy and knew this was going to be the beginning of a bright future.

"This was how I began.

"After going through all the stages, I realized the part I love most is designing with aluminum and painting the final carving. A lot of creativity is involved to bring out the actual beauty of an item. I was taught the embossed plate design by Master Mustapha Congori and, over time, I have been able to train four people so far. I still have people coming in constantly to learn.

"In this art, there are many people who have gone ahead and been able to make it. Like me, they now know it requires a lot of creativity to produce unique and attractive masks and carvings to catch the people's eye.

"I use aluminum plate, brass, copper, wood dust, paint and sese wood to create my designs. Most of my inspiration comes from creativity and meditation.

"My hopes and dreams are to become a great artist and to be able to give back to the poor and needy in my community."