Yanira's sculptures are made of clay, polyester resin and bronze. They vary in size and shape and are the result of individual processes of modeling, casting, finishing and patination that give each piece Yanira's distinctive touch.
Yanira Rodríguez Sosa was not always a sculptress, but as soon and she put her hands on clay for the first time she knew it was going to become her life.
One day a friend, who will later became her art teacher, handed her a piece of clay just to see how she liked working with her hands. The first thing Yanira did was a face, which is one of the most difficult things to accomplish for beginners.
Since that day, she hasn't been able to stop.
"When I'm sculpturing I mediate. Nothing else exists around me but my hands, the clay and the image of the final piece in my mind," Yanira said. "Art showed me I could work in something I really like the day I discovered I had the ability."
She said she regrets not having studied art earlier but also believes that hasn't stopped her for becoming a true plastic artist. She believes her sculptures bring beauty to the eyes and the souls of the people around her.
Yanira was born in a small town in central Venezuela where her family owned a estate. When she was 9, her parents decided to moved to the country's capital, Caracas, were Yanira finished her schooling and got her bachelor's degree in advertising and marketing.
She got a master's degree at Nova University in the United States and worked in banks and marketing for more than 20 years in Caracas, without once imagining her true vocation was art.
Currently Yanira lives in Caracas but frequently visits South Florida, especially Miami, where her sculptures have been exhibited in several occasions.
