Whether I am sculpting the figure or working more abstractly, there are similar design issues, such as over-all configuration, scale, contrasts, balance (physical and visual), finish of surface, and color. Materials and technical problems, such as making secure armatures, are inherent in both figurative or abstract work. Above all, each piece must be itself. Whether it is a figure or abstract, there has to be first an idea where the piece “is going” — maybe after some trials. And then the piece has to be worked out, maybe changed and re-worked, until it arrives (I hope!) at its own clear personality. The figures cast in bronze are not just the same as their terra cotta originals. They are newer pieces, when realized in bronze. Each sculpture, representational or abstract, is its own journey.