casting the sculpture. But his notes were far from systematic, and none of the sketches points to the final position of the horse, with no single definitive drawing of the statue. Akamu researched multiple information sources to gain insight into the original sculptor's intentions. She studied both Leonardo's notes and drawings of the horse and those of other projects he was working on. She reviewed his thoughts on anatomy, painting, sculpture and natural phenomena. Her research expanded to include the teachers who had influenced Leonardo. Akamu also studied Iberian horse breeds, such as the Andalusian, which were favored by the Sforza stables in the late 15th century. Two full-size casts were made of Akamu's design. One was placed at the Hippodrome of San Siro in Milan. The other is at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, a botanical garden and sculpture park in Grand Rapids, Michigan, paid for by billionaire Frederik Meijer. A smaller replica – – has been placed in downtown Allentown's Community Art Park adjacent to the Baum School of Art, in honor of Charles Dent. A bronze replica – – was installed 15 September 2001 at Piazza della Libertà in Vinci, Italy, the birth town of Leonardo. Memorial to Japanese-American Patriotism in World War II Akamu's creation of the statue on the Memorial to Japanese-American Patriotism in World War II, shows two Grus japonensis birds. This work is located at Louisiana Avenue and D Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C. The memorial commemorates Japanese American war involvement, veterans and patriotism during World War II, as well as those held in Japanese American internment camps. Akamu's grandfather, on her mother's side, was arrested in Hawaii during the internment program. He was sent to a relocation camp on Sand Island in Pearl Harbor. Suffering from diabetes upon his internment, he died of heart failure three months into his imprisonment. This family connection, combined with growing up for a time in Hawaii where in the early 1960s she fished with her father in the lochs of Pearl Harbor and the erection of a Japanese American war memorial near her home in Massa, Italy, inspired a strong connection to the memorial and its creation. See also Memorial to Japanese-American Patriotism in World War II National Sculpture Society Women artists References 1955 births Living people American women sculptors American artists of Japanese descent People from Midwest City, Oklahoma Maryland Institute College of Art