Made from fragments of pottery, flecks of gold, and grains of sand, these Guinness World Record-setting micro-sculptures require months of meticulous work, crafted in between heartbeats for the steadiest-possible hands. Internationally renowned artist Willard Wigan crafts these miniature masterpieces, and, as this Great Big Story video explains, every piece from his six-decade career can fit in the palm of his hand.
“If you think the statues are small,” the narration teases, “imagine the tools used to make them. Willard has to craft them all himself, from hypodermic needles, shards of diamond, and human eyelashes.”
“Measured in micrometers, and almost invisible to the human eye, Willard has built worlds inside the eye of a needle – Mount Rushmore, the Last Supper, the Moon Landing to name just a few.
“He also holds the world record for the smallest sculpture ever made which is the size of a single human blood cell. It’s a sculpture of a fetus carved from Kevlar, and placed within the hollowed hole of a single hair. Truly mind boggling.
“When he was 50, Willard was diagnosed with autism, which he credits as his ‘super power’ allowing him to see the world differently. He says he hopes his astonishing pieces will change other people’s understanding of the world too.”
See more of Willard Wigan’s work at WillardWiganMBE.com.
Plus, watch these related videos:
• A Boy And His Atom: The World’s Smallest Movie
• Just how small is an atom?
• 41 micrometeorites in less than 2 minutes
• How small are we in the scale of the universe?
Plus: Teeny Weeny Challenge: How Small Can I Draw?!
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