COVID-19

Julie Rotblatt Amrany

This sculpture was created to reflect the traumatic period we went through on a global scale during the COVID-19 Pandemic. It shows the hopeful image; the metaphor of a survivor floating on a parachute medical mask. Due to medical breakthroughs in vaccinations, testing, swab tests and promoting the use of medical masks to protect others and ourselves, we were able to lessen the amount of deaths and hospitalizations. The heroes in this case would be those medical workers who treated the sick and dying and the scientists who forged their way forward to help solve issues related to this disease.

 

James Baldwin

Jules Arthur

This work captures James Baldwin, an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. Baldwin was an influential public figure and orator, especially during the civil rights movement. I was inspired to creative a work celebrating Baldwin after watching Raol Peck’s documentary about the famed writer and activist. With a wealth of historical photographs and video footage I had a well-documented account and opportunity to capture his likeness and develop the spirit in which I wanted to capture him in.  I incorporated three of his most celebrated novels as a pedestal (Giovanni’s Room, The Fire Next Time and Go Tell It on The Mountain). The bust showcases his character, resilience and steadfastness amid America’s growing pains.

 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Meredith Bergmann, FNSS

Based on the beautiful, fragmented Classical Greek bas-relief of Nike (goddess of Victory) from the Acropolis in Athens, and on photographs of albatross that died from eating plastic, first seen by the artist in National Geographic in 2003. Is our victory over our environment truly a victory?

 

Warrior

Betty Branch

For most of forty years, the primary forces of any work has been the female form and children. The truncated, scarified, male figure of Warrior speaks of battle and wounding and sacrifice, physical and mental, in the service of others, and is a major departure for me.

 

Respect: A Portrait of Harriet Tubman

Kate Brockman, FNSS

This concept maquette represents a large‑scale piece I hope to create someday. It portrays an aged Harriet Tubman with the quiet authority and presence we often associate with Abraham Lincoln. Tubman became a personal hero of mine when I sculpted my first portrait of her and began to understand the breadth of her courage—not only in leading enslaved people to freedom, but in her lifelong commitment to abolition, women’s suffrage, and justice in all its forms. She was a force of strength, tenacity, and perseverance. The connections between Tubman and Lincoln are numerous, nuanced, and profound, and I believe this piece allows those resonances to speak for themselves.

 

Blackburn’s Dilemma

Steve Carpenter, NSS

In the winter of 1883, Howard Blackburn sailed out of Gloucester, MA on a fishing schooner. He and his shipmate became separated from the mother ship in a twenty-foot dory during a sudden winter storm. In these terrible conditions, amid mountainous seas, he managed to keep the dory upright, enduring five days of rowing with little or no food, water, or sleep and with his hands frozen to the oars. Blackburn’s dory mate died of exposure and Blackburn lost his fingers and toes to frostbite. Not letting his handicap detour him, he went on to live a full life as a tavern owner in Gloucester, as well as setting multiple solo Atlantic sailing records.

 

Every Word We Utter

Jane DeDecker, FNSS

 “Every word we utter, every act we perform wafts unto innumerable circles, beyond…” — Elizabeth Cady Stanton

I believe the words of the suffragists still resonate, for these words were meant for action. Indeed, these words became action. Actions became a movement. And that movement continues to set the world right-side up.

Every Word We Utter is a monument to the multi-generational effort it took for women to secure the right to vote. Its 24-inch maquette, conceived for Washington, D.C., reflects a ripple effect—much like a water droplet striking a pond. The impact spreads outward, rebounds upward, and creates daughter droplets that reach higher than the first. This coalescent cascade embodies the height, breadth, and enduring impact of the suffragists’ work.

At the base, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony stand as a unified force. Their words, speeches, and wisdom launched a peaceful revolution, offering courage and tools to be stewards of human rights. Rising above them, Sojourner Truth is a beacon, her gaze fixed on the horizon—a guardian of the belief that women should have the right to vote.

The next generation is represented by Harriet Stanton Blatch, absorbing her mother’s words while clutching a bonnet—a symbol of the suffragist she will become. At the apex of the cascade, Alice Paul and Ida B. Wells stand together, their juxtaposition a testament to individual struggle, resilience, and unyielding determination. Alice Paul drapes the ratification flag along the cascading forms, while Ida B. Wells holds the flag of We the People, representing the vast possibilities these women made possible for generations to come.

This sculpture was a finalist for the Monumental Women competition in Central Park, NYC, and inspired lawmakers and women’s groups to rally for a National Women’s Suffrage Monument in Washington, D.C.—now set to be placed in Constitution Gardens West, near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. While Every Word We Utter may not occupy the National Mall, it remains a powerful, resonant work, available for commission life size or larger, offering any municipality an opportunity to honor this transformative chapter of history.

Every word, every gesture, every act continues to ripple outward. This sculpture is my tribute to that enduring legacy.

 

The Shot Heard Around the World

Eugene Daub, FNSS

This relief was done around 1976 in honor of the Anniversary of the American Revolution. It was designed to be a medal that was produced by the Franklin Mint. The scene is near Concord, MA where there was an exchange of gunfire that marked the beginning of the Revolutionary War. The original model was done in hard plasticine then cast in plaster.

 

Unbreakable Bond

Mark Dziewior

Commissioned as a K9 Veteran memorial, this bronze captures a moment both simple and profound: a German shepherd, steadfast and still, No handler in sight. No command needed. The gesture says everything — I was with you then. I am with you now. It is a tribute to the unbreakable bond between handler and K9, and a reminder that courage doesn’t always wear a uniform. Sometimes it wears a collar.

 

Sachem Daniel Nimham

Michael Keropian, FNSS

Sachem Daniel Nimham was born in 1726 and became the last Sachem of the Wappinger People. Nimham spent much of his short life fighting to reclaim stolen lands in Dutchess County, NY. Going to court as well as traveling to England to speak with the Lord of Trades about the Wappinger cause. Unfortunately, Nimham’s case was thrown out.

In 1775, Nimham and his Mohican allies joined the American fight for Independence. Known as the Stockbridge Indian Militia, they fought in battles in Boston, New Jersey to southern Westchester, NY with Washington’s Army.

Daniel and his son Abraham and about thirty Stockbridge were killed at the Battle of Kingsbridge by overwhelming British and Hessian forces, in what is now Van Cortland Park in the Bronx, NY on August 31, 1778.

In 2002, I was asked to make a sculpture of Nimham by the local Historical Society. Because of the high costs involved they chose not to pursue the project. However, it did not stop my research work on Nimham and the Wappingers. I felt that it was a very worthy project to try to get a monumental tribute to Nimham in the Hudson Valley, so I continued to promote the project to other towns. In 2020, the Supervisor of Fishkill, NY liked the idea of promoting local history and found funding to create an 8’ scale statue. The Daniel Nimham Monument was dedicated in 2022 and placed not far from the place he was born.

The sculpture composition is allegorical and expresses Nimham’s life story, from leaving behind the deeds symbolizing his unsuccessful efforts in court to picking up a musket and joining the American Cause. Daniel and the Stockbridge were some of America’s first Veterans that gave their life for a new country.

 

Benjamin Franklin’s Spirited Discovery

Bruno Lucchesi, FNSS

Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston, MA and died on April 17, 1790 in Philadelphia, PA. His love and devotion of discovery and science is admirable, and I celebrate Benjamin’s bravery with honor, showing how daring he was performing his 1752 dangerous experiment, flying a kite with a key, possibly getting electrocuted.

 

Ernie Pyle

Quintin McCann

The original sculpture was a private commission by a historian and great admirer of Ernie Pyle, the WWII correspondent known for telling stories of ordinary soldiers. Pyle was a careful observer who wrote about the human side of war, just as this bust presents the human side of the hero capturing his familiar expression. Pyle was killed in 1945 while covering the Battle of Okinawa, remaining with the soldiers whose lives he had devoted himself to recording.

 

Afterburner

Steve Rands

Afterburner depicts a clutched fist gripping cloth blowing in the wind. The fist embodies the bright-eyed patriotism of 17-year-old, enlisting in the US Navy. The cloth represents the evolution of that patriotism over five combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. The wind that shapes the cloth is the mental toll of those deployments. First, it’s pliable, shaped by and conforming to the wind. Next, what was once pliable calcifies with experience and that enthusiasm starts eroding, bracing against the wind, questioning it all. The final section reflects disillusionment in witnessing the careerism and profiteering in a war zone. Why?

 

Baltimore Heroes

Karen Swenholt

Baltimore Heroes was built to honor the men of a Baltimore community who together chose to stand between protesters and the police when the city rose up in anger after Freddie Gray died in police custody. Their unified action protected both the young protesters and the police. It was a loving and courageous choice. The protesters chose to stand down, and the city did not burn, which had been feared since a CVS had been torched in the neighborhood the previous evening. The man with open arms standing in-between represents Pastor Lionel Shields of Antioch Church of God in Christ. This is my attempt to honor men in our time who brought ancient teachings to life by creatively applying it’s principals to a tough situation. It was an original response based in love and it took courage. By literally standing in the gap, they saved their city.

 

Fireman Looking Up

Karen Swenholt

Fireman Looking Up is one of several maquettes created for a proposed First Responders Memorial honoring the 343 firefighters and 60 police officers who died serving NYC on September 11, 2001. The sculptures are designed to be mounted sidewalk level, not on a plinth, but among the people of NYC. No matter where they are installed, the figures are to be oriented toward the Towers where so many First Responders lost their lives. The intent of the sculpture is to draw attention to the heroic selflessness that masquerades as another day at work for firefighters and police officers.

 

Eleanor Roosevelt

David Tumblety

Eleanor Roosevelt was dedicated to the advancement of human rights for all citizens of the US and the world. She made her arguments for the more vulnerable with warmth and humility. I tried to convey her humble charm in my sculpture.