Yoko

Yoko derives her name from the model, Yoko, who has modeled for me for several other sculptures as well as this one. Other models I have used, not of Japanese ancestry, have had a much more difficult time sitting on their feet like this but it was no trouble for her.
Having first sculpted the work nude, it was several days later that I finally went ahead and put the clothes on this piece. During the preceding days before finishing it, I formed in my head how it would look completed. I would picture in my mind the unfinished sculpture and randomly shadow sculpt it, adding the finishing touches. When I entered my studio to finally finish the piece for real, I had a sense that something special was about to happen. I was also somewhat sad that I was covering the work since it looked so good already, undraped. The actual sculpting of the clothes took just 45 minutes. When I was finished it I sat there and stared in wonder and amazement at what I had just done. Although is was a nice clear day, through my windows the light in my studio seemed even brighter and more vibrant than ever. It was a breakthrough experience, a bench mark and one of the highlights of my sculpting career. The awards the piece won and successes I gained from it later, were anti-climatic compared to that day when I first created Yoko.