Below is an excerpt of an inspiring article in the Winter Issue of On Patrol, the Magazine of the USO.  Click here to read the full story and hear and audio interview with the artist.  Click here to learn how to get your own subscription.

[caption id=“attachment_619” align=“alignright” width=“300” caption=“Michael Naranjo with the Eagle Dancer. Photo by David Holman.”][/caption]

“By David Holman - Santa Fe, New Mexico

Michael Naranjo reaches up and runs his fingers over the bronze nose and lips of a sculpture that he passes every day. “It has been a while since I looked at his face.” The eagle dancer, a figure common in Pueblo Indian ceremonies, is mid-trot with his arms effortlessly waving attached feathers. With his one functional hand, Michael sculpted the exquisitely detailed eagle dancer that sits in front of his Santa Fe home — one “look” at a time.

Michael is blind from wounds he received in the Vietnam War. And he wouldn’t sculpt any other way.” …read more.