On this decades-old dustpan face, the mouth is a cabinet door pull and the eyes circular vents.

Equally surprising, his talent bubbles from an unlikely background. After attending law school at the University of Virginia, he headed up the organized crime and anti-fraud departments of the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. Carleton then used his legal experience to develop, invest in and manage a number of real estate projects. Once these professional interests no longer demanded the bulk of his time, he was able to discover the gift inside him that had been dormant for decades.

What is the artist’s motivation? “To try to make inanimate objects come alive,” he comments. The best way to do that is with some semblance of a human face, he says, “because that’s what draws our attention.” Facial expressions are the main nonverbal way that humans communicate; they have the ability to shame, to engender guilt, to inspire, and to show selfless love, according to Carleton. He feels that they may even be a more powerful mode of communication than speech.

John Carleton's faces are on display at Intangled Gallery in Sedona; a portfolio of his work can be viewed at joncarletonart.com.