“For the most part, things never get built the way they were drawn.”
- Artist Maya Ying Lin

The creative process is dynamic, not static. Artist Maya Ying Lin has created a range of public displays and understands this as well as anyone. In creating her first large work, Lin took her share of criticism. The style of the black cut-stone Vietnam Veterans Memorial, with the names of 58,261 soldiers, was opposed by many. But few who have visited the National Mall in Washington come away from it unmoved. In shaping, writing, and crafting messages, understand things never get built the way they were drawn. And see some of Lin’s work here.