In an evolution of creativity, Francisco Sotomayor’s “Skull of the Sun” combines artistic courage with diamond tools and technology.

From the inside of a 400-pound piece of silver sheen obsidian, volcanic glass mined in Mexico, Sotomayor carved to 1/8 and 1/16 of an inch for the skull and 32 teeth, respectively.

“That was scary,” he said.

To reflect the sun’s rays, Sotomayor put 400 watts of LED lights behind the skull.

“I wanted to create the effect of the skull coming out of the sun,” he said. “I chose the skull because it is a timeless symbol of humanity.”

To bring the sculpture into modern time, Sotomayor carved sunglasses on the skull.

“He’s Mr. Cool but he’s a skull,” he said. “If I just did the skull, I couldn’t get the cool effect of the light. It wouldn’t have been cool but a kind of creepier skull.”

He enhances the effect of the light by polishing the teeth and sunglasses.

“If I had not polished the front of the sunglasses or the teeth, half the light would not come through,” he said. “When you stand in front of the piece it almost seems like the skull is smiling.”

In his quest for authenticity, Sotomayor added a strand of cranial sutures.

“I carved the sutures from the outside first to get the prescribed depth and then had to go inside to locate where the light starts coming through the stone,” he said.

Along the way, the sculptor discovered secrets revealed by the obsidian.

“While working on it, I put the light behind it and found the stone had this beautiful goldish yellow,” he said. “You never know what the stone is going to give you.”

To chart his progress, Sotomayor filmed each step in 13 videos, available on YouTube, youtube.com/channel/ UCNZBPifoIm58lF1xCa1bhrg.

“I want this to be educational because this is a unique piece, a cutting-edge piece and something that’s never been done before,” he said. “I couldn’t have done it without the diamond tool and technology along with the pizazz.”

Sotomayor, who lives in Divide, established his artistic credentials with the large marble sculptures Pas de Deux in 1999 and the American Woman in 2003.

He has been invited to show “Skull of the Sun” at the 53rd annual Denver Gem & Mineral Show Sept. 16-19 at the Denver Convention Center in conjunction with the Hard Rock Summit at 700 14th St.

“I wanted Skull of the Sun to be cool, a statement piece, a show stopper of power,” he said.