22 x 17 x 18 inches, tiger eye,

Artists joke about happy accidents but you can't dismiss them. I was working on this head from a large piece of liger Eye alabaster, deep gray and richly marked with ochre. He was almost there, almost finished. The pate of his elongated head, all seeing eyes and beard, he appeared ageless with an air of superior knowledge. But up on top it just wasn't right -too symmetrical, "just a little more off the top. Perhaps no one else would have bothered to carve again, to rasp and sandpaper and polish again. admit that was reluctant to put the chisel to the piece now that it was in the finished state. But it had to be right in my eyes, and to the touch of my hand. picked up my hammer and chisel...one tap.., "Oh my gosh," the top of his head popped off. (The actual word I used was not so ladylike.)

Everyone in the studio came running. "How terrible."

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing." | said. "Now, now it's finished, better than I could have done It

- a happy accident."