Willie Thorne dedicated not just one but seven pieces to the Lakers' player at his latest exhibit at Wesleyan College's Mims Gallery inside the Dunn Center.
TOMORROW WHEN APPLE POSTS QUARTERLY NUMBERS. >>> IT WAS A YEAR AGO TODAY WHEN THE WORLD WAS SHOCKED AND HEARTBROKEN AS WE LOST NBA LEGEND, KOBE BRYANT. THE 41-YEAR-OLD WAS KNOWN FOR HIS WORK ON AND OFF THE COURT. ASIDE FROM HIS TIME WITH THE LAKERS, HE WAS IN OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST AND OSCAR AWARD WINNER. HE AND HIS 13-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER AND SEVEN OTHERS DIED IN THE HELICOPTER CRASH IN CALIFORNIA LAST JANUARY. THE NEWS INSPIRED TRIBUTES AND MEMORIALS AROUND THE WORLD. A ROCKY MOUNT ARTIST WAS ONE OF THEM. HE SPENT ALMOST A YEAR PREPARING A SPECIAL EXHIBIT IN HONOR OF KOBE BRYANT. NOW IT'S READY AT WESLEYAN'S MEN'S GALLERY. INDIRA SKIBA SPOKE WITH ARTIST ABOUT A SPECIAL TECHNIQUE FOR THE EXHIBIT. >> IT'S VERY BEAUTIFUL. I LIKE THE WAY THE PICTURES POP OUT OF THE FRAME. >> Reporter: THE IDEA IS TO BRING THE SUBJECT TO LIFE EVEN AFTER DEATH. ARTIST, WILLIE THORNE, IS ABLE TO DO WITH SOD PIECES OF WOOD AND PAINT GETTING A 3-D EFFECT. HE SPENT 10 MONTHS BREATHING LIFE INTO KOBE BRYANT AND HIS DAUGHTER, GIANNA. >> I HAD TO DO SOMETHING TO REPRESENT KOBE. HE TOUCHED A LOT OF PEOPLE. HIS STORIES, THE WAY HE PLAYED. TOOK HIS WORK IS ON DISPLAY AT MEN'S ART GALLERY. BRYANT IS THE CENTER OF IT BUT THERE ARE OTHERS TOO. MOHAMMED ALI, PRINCE, CHADWICK BOSEMAN, PROMINENT AFRICAN- AMERICANS WHO DIED IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS. >> I WANT TO INSPIRE PEOPLE TO REACH FOR THEIR GOALS, AND WHATEVER ELSE YOU GOT, SHARE. >> Reporter: HE HAS BEEN AN ARTIST FOR 30 YEARS. HE HOPES HIS WORK WILL MAKE STUDENTS AT WESLEYAN COLLEGE, PAUSE, REMEMBER AND HONOR NOT ONLY THE ATHLETE, BUT THE DAD. >> I THINK IT'S JUST HARD TO SEE GOOD PEOPLE DIE IS REALLY HARD, AND ESPECIALLY HE WAS REALLY YOUNG AND HE HAD A LOT TO LOOK FORWARD TO. >> HE WILL LIVE ON. >> Reporter: PERHAPS THINGS TO ARTIST LIKE THURN. INDOOR SKIBA, WRAL NEWS, ROCKY MOUNT. >> IF YOU LIKE THAT, THOSE
