Ben ShepherdBenjamin Shepherd is a Stonemason, a Sculptor of Stone, and the Author of "The Book of Say." Born in the rural south of the United States, he achieved the equivalent of a fifth-grade education through homeschooling. Having no formal education, Benjamn spent his career researching the lives of Political families and incorporating their stories into their Estate homes via art and sculpture in the United States, Caribbean, and Pacific Islands. The News and Observer recognized him as one of the greatest living artists in North Carolina in 2011 after he spent four years creating one of the two Holy Relics of the Moravian Church. He worked this part of his artistic career under the name of A. Tew. He was never formally trained but self-taught.Benjamin communicates in English, Spanish, French, and Italian. He lives in Ortigia, Italy, and works on his Olive Grove in Castiglione Di Sicilia on Mt. Etna. Benjamin is an avid waterman, sailor, diver, and fisherman. He harvests Sea Salt and Sea Glass from the Ionian Sea.A survivor of repeat trauma he has found the courage to reach out to others through the written word: a listener, a self-healer, and a mender of loose bricks and broken things. The man mixing mortar or harvesting salt is a confidant and faithful friend to the mighty, the lowly, and all living things. Read More Read Less