The 8 Month Process
Conception
The idea for the First Millennial Saint Began midsummer 2024. Johnny selected a slab of wood on June 29th.
Work Begins
Johnny acquires help from the Flynn and Shriver family to cut and sand the slab to 3x4 feet.
Priming
Once wood is smooth, Johnny primes the wood.
Editing & Drawing
Johnny uses the cutout feature of photoshop to create a 3 colored version of the iconic photograph of Carlo in his red polo with a backpack, then Johnny draws this on the wood using a pencil..
Painting
3 layers of acrylic painting begins because the wood is so porous! Let the Holy Spirit fall thick over our souls!
Background
Johnny covers Carlo's face and uses liquid cement to adhere the fine grass fibers to the background creating soccer pitch.
Circumnavigation Break
Work pauses while Johnny sails around the world on Semester at Sea. He keeps a singular army figure in his pocket, remembering the work he will finish when he returns home. Johnny visits the African island of Mauritius, where Carlo's nanny Rajesh is from: Rajesh said, “Carlo communicated to me and electrified me with his faith, his charity, and his purity.” Rajesh converted from Hinduism.
Painting Figures
Johnny acquired thousands of miniature army men from the greater Saint Paul, MN area. He told the sellers he was going to give them a new mission! Once he had an army of over 1,000, he began to use a combination of spray paint and handpainting to get into the nook and crannies. Each figure was divided into groups so Johnny knew which figure received which new coat.
Staging
This stage is roughly the second longest due to the meticulous attention to detail and coordination of the precise placement for each and every figure. No glue was added so one wrong move and dozens of figures fall down. Soon enough the desired arrangement is achieved and gluing can commence.
Gluing (1/2)
By far the longest and stickiest stage, gluing. One by one Johnny lifted the pieces and glued them using E6000. There are a total of 53 Hail Mary's in the Rosary. Johnny prayed just shy of 21 roasires to complete The First Millennial Saint.
Transport (1/3): Saint Paul, MN -> Salt Lake City, UT
With the help of the Smith family, Johnny secured Carlo in a wooden box and drove the almost complete piece to SEEK25 from Saint Paul, to Salt Lake City in a 15 passenger van. For many hours of the journey, Carlo's box was used as a bed. This was not the first (or last) time Carlo helped people sleep better at night!
Transport (2/3): Salt Lake City, UT -> Phoenix, AZ
After the SEEK25 conference, Johnny rented a small Mazda SUV which was the exact fit the crate. Hard to tell from the photo but it fit by just 1 centimeter on either side! Phew! This was the last rental car they had from UT to AZ! Time to finish Carlo down in the valley!
Dance Party!
Carlo arrives safely at the Vrba residence in Phoenix, Arizona! Johnny and his mom moon walk to Forest Frank and celebrate Carlo's journey across the United States!
Unboxing (1/2): Phoenix
Johnny and his father, Big John, carefully take out Carlo from his box and create a new space to work. This gives Johnny a huge rush of adrenaline for what it will feel like to finally unbox Carlo in Rome in a few months!
Gluing (2/2)
Johnny and his oldest cousin and confirmation sponsor, Nick, work together to finish the arduous gluing process. Johnny's back was bent like an old lady for many hours.
Finishing Touches
Johnny gloves up to touch up any imperfections on all figures throughout the mosaic. This stage gives Johnny much needed time to reflect on his work and continue to be persistent with Mrs. Acutis's team.
Framing
This stage was brought to you by The Sheston family, Johnny's nextdoor neighbors! Shoutout to Paul for helping us cut and nail the frame! The sound of the nailgun jolted Johnny as the frame was shot into place a few dozen times.
Okay, actually finishing touches
Johnny spends the final minutes on the piece patching up the frame with putty and painting it over. Many tears were shed as The First Millennial Saint approaches it's completion. When the piece is finished, Johnny sprinted up the mountain behind his house and begged the Lord to help him get it to Mrs. Acutis.
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Private Viewings
Johnny took carlo on a few small missions to his friends beautiful homes to see how the piece looked in a real life setting, to see if it was worthy of potentially going to Mrs. Acutis's home. Needless to say, Johnny and his friends were very happy with the result.
The Crate
Thank you so much to Sacred Heart Art Gallery, The Pabst Family, and Phx Art Care for donating the heat treated wooden crate that will take Carlo across the Atlantic! The crate was a perfect fit! This was no coincidence!
See You In Italy!
NEXT STOP, ROMA! Johnny say's see ya later to his friend Carlo. Johnny was also made aacutley aware that this may verywell by the last time he ever sees his piece again as uncertainly with international shipping, customs, and non-business mailing label. Johnny was warned by multiple professionals to keep the piece in the USA but Johnny took the risk...and sent it.