The Shell Man
By: Marina TricoricoCollege Now Course - BSS 1
"Want to see something special?" People always get a kick out of this impression of
my Papa, with his thick Italian accent and broken English. Most people take this statement
the wrong way, mistaking my grandfather for some sort of exhibitionist, but what he
is offering to share with them is something beyond special. He calls them his "keys,"
which open the doors to bring God into people lives. These aren't your standard Baldwin
door keys however. His keys are seashells, in which he paints miraculous Biblical
scenes. My Papa, born in Mola di Bari, Italy, was never schooled in painting, or any
kind of art for that matter. But each shell he paints is done in painstaking detail,
scenes continuing up into the twisting crevices of the shell. Copying most of his
pictures from various art books, these sacred paintings are done with amazing likeness
to the originals. Among his works are such world-acclaimed and known paintings such
as the Last Supper, reproduced twice, in shells less than 2 inches in diameter. He
is now working on a 12 shell piece, which, when completed, will be a replica of Michelangelo's
Sistine Chapel.
My Papa's story is an amazing one, and is difficult to put into my own words. The
following is his version of how he began this wonderful practice. "While on vacation
in Aruba in 1990, my wife, my cousins, and I went to the beach late in the afternoon
to relax. After a while, I left the others, and went somewhere more private to say
my daily prayer. While I was praying, a twelve-year-old boy was picking up shells
not too far from where I was. At this time of day, there were not too many people
at the beach. After the boy filled a bag up with shells, he left, after which I continued
to pray. All of a sudden, a strong feeling within me told me to pick up shells for
myself. This feeling was so strong, that right away I got up, went to my wife and
asked her for a bag, and I started to pick up shells. I filled up 3/4 of a bag. I
brought them home and left them in a corner of my basement. Two weeks later, another
strong feeling came over me. The feeling told me to do something with the shells.
When I heard this, I said to myself, I'm going to paint inside these shells spiritual
images. My first shell was of Christ carrying the cross. When I looked at the shell
at eye level, I got the chills. But the cross seemed to be semicircular, due to the
depth of the shell. I learned to adjust my paintings so that when looked at, the figures
inside the shell are perfect from all angles. From the bottom of my heart, I knew
then that the feeling I had felt was the Power of the Holy Spirit, which had led me
to begin painting in the shells."
I was three when Papa received this gift of the Holy Spirit, so I never thought much
of it. Naturally, I was proud of his artistic ability, and would show him off to anyone
who would listen. At the beach, I would collect him as many shells as I could, always
picking the most perfect ones, with a good surface to paint on. I would visit him
down the basement in the studio my father built for him, watching him as he whistled
and painted, the brushes customized by Papa himself, to have only a few bristles,
his palette nothing more than the lid to a plastic Chinese food container. I was even
the subject of two or three of his shells. I was enamored with the art, rather than
the spiritual meaning behind them, and while I listened to my grandfather preach about
their meanings, I never grasped what he was getting at. Now that I am older and more
mature, I understand the significance of the shells. My Papa is not just some man
who happened to unearth a flair for painting. He is a man who is truly blessed. He
has a clear purpose on this Earth, to spread the word of God. You may never see smiles
like the smiles of those who come into contact with the shells. They are insatiable,
wanting to scrutinize every detail, and learn the stories behind the shells and the
scenes. They want to know about Jesus. For years, Papa basically showed the shells
to people he met at church, family members, friends of family, and other random people.
He always carried shells in his pockets (and he still does). More recently, he started
having showings at churches. The turnouts are amazing. Hundreds of people will come,
some staying hours to listen to him speak about God. I love going to the showings
just to explain the shells to people. They are so amazed and so touched by what he
does.
Naturally, there are many stories that go along with the shells. My personal favorite
is about a certain shell Paper christened "The Miracle Shell." When I was little,
I brought him a shell, that when overturned, appeared to have the head of the dove.
Upon observing the shell head, on the outer neck of the shell, is an indentation in
the shape of a flying dove. It is quite amazing, being that the dove is one of the
forms of the Holy Spirit. My grandfather kept putting off painting this shell, until
one day he decides to paint John baptizing Jesus. He finally finishes the shell, and
that night decides to bring it to his prayer meeting. Amazingly, the topic of discussion
that night was none other than the baptism of Jesus. Only through miracles of God
could such occurrences happened to this shell, from it being placed in his hands by
me, to the timing of his painting it.
Fourteen years and 200+ shells later, Papa is becoming somewhat of a celebrity. He
has appeared at several churches for showings and was featured in an article titled
"God-powered art," complete with color photos of him and some of his shells. Of course,
he claims his talent comes from God and no one else, although he does seem a tiny
bit proud of himself sometimes. What's for sure is that I'm proud of the Shell Man,
my Papa.
