But artist Li Hardison really hopes one of the people who sees her newest work will be Sen. Barack Obama.

"This is the one I want to give to Barack Obama," she said of the 17-inch-diameter bronze relief portrait.

The work of art features a profile of Obama against a background resembling sun rays, with a quote from the song "A Change is Gonna Come," by soul singer Sam Cooke.

"The quote goes 'I know a change is gonna come. Oh yes it will,'" said Hardison. "I had to take that quote and make it part of my piece."

Hardison has been an artist for 18 years. She got the idea to create the piece featuring Obama this summer and only had three weeks to complete it.

"It really became high drama for me," she said of the difficulty she had in sculpting a life-like image of Obama's face from clay.

Hardison says much of her inspiration comes from her 94-year-old aunt, who is also a sculptor.

"It was her passion to use her artistic ability to create portraits of African Americans," she said.

Hardison now wants to give her work to Obama, but she doesn't know how.

"It's just secret service, security, thousands of people, you know," she said. "It's like being in an ocean, trying to hold a megaphone."

She hopes someone with the Obama campaign can help her get the relief portrait into the senator's hands. Until then the artwork, valued at more than $3,000, will be on display at the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, on Welton Street in Five Points. Many visitors with the Democratic National Convention have already admired the piece.

Hardison plans to create 10 exact replicas of the relief portrait and several other versions of the work in varying sizes and price ranges.

Hardison says she's speechless at the thought of her artwork possibly hanging in the White House. But she knows, in order for that to happen, she has to find a way to get it to the Democratic Presidential Candidate.

"I leave it to a power greater than myself," she said.