Nina Winters Wins Sculpture Commission for New Native American Cultural Center

This is the third in a series of articles about the internationally collected sculptor, Nina Winters.

When I spoke with Nina from her studio in Clearwater, Florida, I found out that she was awarded yet another major monumental sculpture. This project is to create the central sculpture for a new Native American themed resort.

The 10 foot high $250,000 sculpture will represent the “Gathering of the Nations”.

A new Native American Cultural Center, a “living history”, is being created in the environs of the metropolis of Las Vegas. It will be dedicated to all the Indian Nations of the North American continent.

The nations (colloquially known as “tribes”) include the Apache, Arapaho, Blackfoot, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Chikasaw,
Chinook, Chippewa (Ojibwe), Choctaw, Creek, Crow, Hopi, Huron, Kiowa, Mohawk (Iroquois), Navajo, Nez Perce, Paiute, Pawnee, Pueblo, Seminole, Shawnee and Shoshone.

The ground breaking is planned for May 2007.

One reason she was chosen to do this project is because of her intense interest in the ecology of the planet and her
well-known fight for the spiritual freedom of humanity. These match closely with the goals of the Indian peoples.
She has a unique ability to create a strong emotional impact with her bronze sculptures. Her work conveys the power and depth of the human spirit.

I queried Nina as to her ideas for the piece. She replied, “It is important to represent all the nations and to
acknowledge them for coming together peacefully as an example to the rest of the world.”

She continued elaborating on her theme. “I am currently working on this in my studio and the predominant idea is
that of a dancer who is more of a spirit than a body. The Indian people understand that they are spiritual beings and I want to show this clearly. I am also considering having long featherlike extensions showing the dancer’s reach into
the ‘other’ world. I will paint or sculpt symbols and patterns from many of the different nations on these extensions. The body of the dancer will be crouched down forming somewhat of a circle. This will be a symbol for the
continuance of life”.

Nina Winters was picked for her unique ability to create a strong emotional impact with her bronze sculptures. Her work conveys the power and depth of the human spirit.
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During the tour of her beautiful waterside studio in Clearwater, Florida, I asked Nina why she had chosen to work in bronze. She explained, “ I create human emotions, hopes and truths and make them in bronze. I want them to last through time.”

I traveled north and met with Nina in her self-built studio in the woods of New Hampshire, I was intrigued by the ecologically minded sculptor’s commitment to our planet’s and our planet’s peoples’ physical, emotional and spiritual health.

She spoke easily about her feelings. “Even in my early years, I knew that we had to work together to change the world. I started by trying my hand at building an ecological studio/home in the woods. I built the house with the help of a few friends and still use it in the summers. It’s quite simple to use solar power and we built the house with only a chain saw and lots of work.”

She continued, “As I grew in stature as an artist, I wanted to positively affect more people. I try to imbue my work
with so much emotion that it will flow from me into the bronze and communicate at the other end to the viewer.”

She showed me over 40 sculptures she had created that were ready to be enlarged to monumental proportions.

I asked why she decided to make her works large. She replied, “I began by making smaller works, but they always
were large in my mind. My work was purchased by many collectors, but I still felt the need to make monumental
works that would be seen by hundreds of thousands of people.”

Fast forward to today, and her dream has become a reality.

Working in her studios is practically an obsession. Her work is large both visually and emotionally. Her sculptures convey the heroic power and excitement of the human potential.

Her clients include corporate officials from Paine Webber, the Wall Street Group and Hiram Walker. Her work is in major collections in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia and England and she is in the private collections of many celebrities including musicians, music producers, arrangers and film producers.

Her bronze work was featured in the Paramount film “Kiss the Girls” starring Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd.

She has been honored with awards for excellence in sculptural concept and design.

All her sculptures can be commissioned in any size and are unique solutions for corporate and hotel architecture.

She is also working on a new monumental sculpture in Clearwater that will be installed near her southern studio in a development on the locally loved “Pinellas Trail”, a long fought for bicycling, running and rollerblading trail that connects many of the nearby areas.

Article by Jayden Adams, Editor-in-Chief International Newswire

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Nina Winters.