First family: A micro-sculpture of the Obamas, carved into the eye of a 24-carat gold needle by British artist Willard Wigan

A British sculptor² has brought US President Barack Obama down to size.

Talented Willard Wigan has carved Mr Obama and his family into the eye of a 24-carat gold needle.

Speaking in Los Angeles, as he was about to launch his first American exhibition, Willard revealed: 'My favourite piece has to be President Barack Obama and his family.

'I never thought I would see a black President in my life time, so this is historic and I wanted to celebrate that.'

The micro-sculptor's work is so small, you need a microscope to see it - it is invisible to the naked eye.

But Willard creates it all by hand in an astonishing process.

It takes him up to three months to create each amazing and unique sculpture, which usually sits within the eye of a needle or on a pin head.

The personal sacrifice involved in creating pieces is almost inconceivable. Willard enters a meditative³ state in which his heartbeat is slowed, allowing him to reduce hand tremors⁴ and sculpt¹ between pulse beats.

Even the reverberation⁵ caused by traffic outside can affect Willard's work, so he often works through the night when there is minimal⁶ disruption.

In the past he has created micro-sculptures of such stars as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, P Diddy. Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe and even The Simpsons.

But it is the President Obama sculpture he is most proud of, having spent more than three months creating it especially for his US tour.

'I think the Obama sculpture is my favourite of all time as it's the most significant piece that I have ever done.

Willard, who is from Birmingham, was subsequently honoured with receiving an MBE from HRH Prince Charles for his services to art.

His exhibition and tour of the US begins this week and runs in Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston through to November.

英国一位雕塑家最近创作了美国总统奥巴马的迷你雕像。

天才微雕艺术家威拉德·维冈在一个24克拉的金针针眼里雕出了奥巴马一家。

威拉德正在洛杉矶即将举办他的首次美国展览，他说：“我最心爱的作品当然是奥巴马全家的雕像。”

“我从没想过在我有生之年黑人能当总统，这很有历史意义，我要庆祝一下。”

这位微雕艺术家的作品非常小，只有用显微镜才能看得到，用肉眼看不到。

但威拉德全凭双手完成雕像，过程令人惊叹。

每个让人叹为观止、别具一格的雕像都需要花费他三个月的时间，这种雕像通常放在针孔里或者大头针的针头上。

创作过程中付出的心血令人难以想像。威拉德在创作时接近于冥想状态，脉搏减慢，这使他可以减少手颤，并在心跳间隙进行雕刻。

甚至门外车辆的回响都会影响到威拉德的创作，因此他经常在最清静的深夜工作。

他还曾为布拉德•皮特、安吉丽娜•朱莉、吹牛老爹、查理•卓别林、玛丽莲•梦露，甚至是辛普森一家创作过微雕。

但他最引以为傲的还是奥巴马的雕像，为了美国之行，他花费了三个多月的时间进行创作。

“我觉得奥巴马雕像是我的最爱，因为它是我的作品中最有意义的一个。”

之后，由于在艺术领域的贡献，来自伯明翰的威拉德被英国王储查尔斯王子授予了英帝国勋章。

他的美国巡展将于本周开始，先后在洛杉矶、芝加哥、休斯敦等地举办，一直持续到11月。

Vocabulary:

 micro-sculpture：微雕，是最为精细微小的一种工艺品，其作品要用放大镜或显微镜方能观看到镂刻的内容。英国伯明翰的 Willard Wigan 是一位国际知名的雕刻家，他是世界最小雕塑的创作者。他通过一把微型手术刀在米、沙和糖上雕刻，然后把它们放进针头里。