Below is an example of the transitions a sculpture goes through as it’s in progress. I felt the skirt was too refined compared to the more abstract character of her hair (left image) so I decided to mimic the lines of the hair in the dress and to make the dress longer in hopes of more drama (middle picture). I made the change but didn’t like it and I couldn’t figure out why. With the help of trusty advisors, I realized I lost the lofty lightness previously expressed by the clothing and it was a shame to lose the shape of her upper leg. I made the dress shorter and I liked it better… so I made it even shorter and I liked it even better. I hacked away at the clay and clipped armature wire until the final dress was shorter than the original. The new length in the new style was the winning combination (right picture).

I also reduced the toe-point in an effort to make the woman look more relaxed. Of course bending the wire destroyed the foot (right picture) so I had to re-sculpt it.

I used to be afraid of making changes because doing so inevitably destroys some details and shapes and I feared I could never reproduce what I had created… as if anything good I created was just by accident. I am becoming more confident in my skill and feel liberated to explore changes, knowing I can figuratively hit Ctrl-Z and undo.