Global Peace Initiative searched the world for an entire year for the right artist for the job and commissioned Zoya to complete the 21-foot monument.

The Cornerstone of Peace was built in 1995, 50 years after the battle. The monument displays the names of nearly 250,000 who died during the fighting: 14,011 Americans and 227,977 Japanese.

She’s been busy working on a massive monument for the war-torn Middle East, and this weekend, she will unveil the maquette – a smaller scale of what’s to come.