Sculpting through life

Alonzo Clemons had a bad accident as a young boy. He fell on his head leaving him with a severe disability.

At the same time, Alonzo discovered an amazing ability. Alonzo is one of about twenty-five savants in the world. A savant is someone with an ingenious ability that stands in stark contrast to their disability.

Alonzo can't read, write or perform most other tasks that come easily to others. However, show him a fleeting image of an animal on TV and he can sculpt it perfectly, not in hours, but in minutes.

Nancy Mason is Alonzo's helper and friend. She and Alonzo decided to sell his sculptures online at a Web site called artsales.com.

The sculptures range anywhere from two hundred to five thousand dollars. Selling his sculptures on a Web site versus an art venue allows a higher percentage of the profits from the sales to go to Alonzo.

They are targeting Alonzo's sculptures towards a certain group of people. "Who we are looking for are those people who have a sense of real appreciation for him, his art and what he's accomplished in life," said Mason.

Alonzo always has a smile on his face and can't keep his hands off of clay. He is a Boulder resident and you might see him working his "day job" at the YMCA.