The University of Central Oklahoma in conjunction with the City of Edmond have commissioned Jane DeDecker and the National Sculptors' Guild to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Edmond's first female police officer. Dr. Elaine Bartgis started as a student at Central State University in 1970 majoring in nursing, then switched to criminal justice. She started as a dispatcher at the Edmond Police Department while still studying at CSU. Her connections to the University and City of Edmond make Dr. Bartgis an important figure for the community to honor.

Her accolades and influences are vast, Dr. Bartgis worked for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) in the 1980's, completed her PhD in 1994, and was hired as a faculty member for criminal justice at UCO in 2004. She was instrumental in forming the School of Criminal Justice (SCJ) serving as the first Assistant Director of the SCJ and Assistant Dean in the College of Liberal Arts.  Additionally, she was the creator of the Crime and Intelligence Analysis Master's Program at UCO. Dr. Bartis retired from UCO in 2013, although she remained as an adjunct post retirement. Clearly a driven person who endlessly contributed to the community.

Jane will capture this accomplished individual during her time with the Edmond police, circa 1970's. Her pose will provide a sense of determination and forward thinking, always looking to improve the criminal justice system. The sculpture will be cast in bronze and placed at the University in 2025. Initial clay sketch shown below.

Update: 9/13/23 
​Jane DeDecker and the National Sculptors' Guild were selected by Hawaii's State Foundation on Culture and Arts for a sculpture placement at their renovated Ho'okipa Cottages, a part of the Women's Correctional Facility. We are really pleased that our concept has been approved by the commissioners and we are into the next phase of realizing this beautiful sculpture as a monumental bronze for the community.

She is a universal figure of compassion and acceptance, representative of a Tutu (grandmother). It is our hope that this figure will provide a positive space for the women, workers and visitors, where one can sit and reflect, seek guidance, see themselves in her, or someone they love. 

The design is of a female figure seated with outstretched arm draped in Hawaiian lei’s that she is offering to her fellow Hawaiians and the island at large; in an expression of aloha; compassion, gratitude and acceptance.

"Beyond a greeting, aloha can describe a deep love and respect for people—including oneself—and places. The ancient kahunas (priests) taught that living the Spirit of Aloha meant sending and receiving positive energy to everything and everyone in your environment." (PBS, American Masters)

The benevolent gesture of the sculpture is symbolic of the traditional Hawaiian customs of 'Aloha' and 'Ho'okipa', the Native Hawaiian value of hospitality and giving. Native Hawaiians have always believed in selflessly extending themselves to others, whether they had close ties with them or not. This is an ideal sentiment for artwork representing the renovated Ho'okipa Cottage, where women learn ways they can individually grow and contribute to the greater community. The more one cares for the world, the greater the world will sustain and provide.

Update 2/21/2024: Metal is back from Madd Castings and now the sculpture is being pieced back together at DeDecker Studio. 

11/18/2022: Jane DeDecker's latest casting of her monumental bronze sculpture "YMCA" will soon grace the entry of The Ottawa YMCA in Ottawa, IL. Pictured here is the sculpture in clay in Jane's Studio when she first sculpted the piece in 2006. For this placement the family donating the sculpture to the Y have requested a modification to one of the portraits to capture the likeness of their daughter. These commemorations make what we do that much more special. The sculpture will be placed in 2024.

​In 1919, the National Woman's Party led by Alice Paul began sewing stars on a giant purple, white, and gold flag. Each time a state ratified the Nineteenth Amendment, a new star would be sewn on the flag. 

Inspired by the Suffrage Movement flag of the early 1900's, we propose the flag be placed singularly as a monolithic form sculpted in bronze. This sculpture honors the 100 year commemoration of the ratification of the 19th Amendment: Women's right to vote. It also represents the present day progress, and serves as a reminder of the continued efforts being made toward equality. 
​

This commemorative placement honoring women's rights is particularly fitting for the City of Paramount as they celebrate its 2020 election of an all-female City Council. ​

Jane and son, David apply the patina

Our installations today in downtown Downey, CA!
Joe Norman’s 
#HomewardMonarch 
and Jane DeDecker’s 
#MyHeartIsInYourHands
These are the first of a series of #PublicArt placements that the City has commissioned 
from the National Sculptors' Guild to enhance
​#DowneyAvenue
More coming soon!
NSG placement 513

Upate: 10/10/2019 ​
The National Sculptors' Guild has just finished installing NSG Fellow Jane DeDecker’s “Arkansas Nineteenth Amendment Memorial” bronze sculpture with its custom designed granite and stainless-steel base in Little Rock, Arkansas. Could it be more gorgeous?!!

Special thanks to the Sculpture at the River Market and City of Little Rock for creating such a beautiful plaza for the sculpture.

NSG Public Art Placement #510
​Installation images shown below

DESCRIPTION AND SYMBOLISM OF THE MONUMENT:
Anthony and Stanton writing the Nineteenth Amendment is the nucleus,  the beginning of the women’s movement. To the side of the authors stands the elder Sojourner Truth, a beacon for the movement. The young Harriet Stanton Blatch represents the future. From them rises the next generation of the movement, the “daughters” who ratified the nineteenth amendment, represented by Ida B. Wells and Alice Paul. Standing on the shoulders of giants, these women were elevated by what came before. From this height, the ratification flag cascades to the innumerable circles that ripple outwards.

Sojourner Truth, an African-American abolitionist and women’s right activist, was among the first voices of the women’s movement.  She propelled the movement in its early days because she was willing to speak at time when few women did so.  I have depicted her standing on a pulpit to illustrate how she willingly projected her voice against injustices. Her gaze is to the future – to the horizon – looking to a place where women – together – will turn the world “right side up again.”  In my composition, I have sculpted her in her early 50’s, around the time she would have delivered her seminal speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?” Within the composition, she is a guardian of the belief that women should have the right to vote.

I used the same iconic photograph of the coauthors of the Declaration of Sentiments as inspiration for Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, but I depicted them at their age at the time of the writing of the Sentiments. The two women are physically connected in the sculpture, forming a unified force that truly speaks of the oneness of their purpose. Their words, speeches and wisdom launched a worldwide, peaceful revolution. Even today, these two women offer us the courage and the tools to be the stewards of human rights.

At a joint appearance for Hilary Clinton’s campaign, Michelle Obama echoed Stanton’s words: “With every action we take, with every word we utter, we think about the millions of children who are watching us, who hang onto our every word, looking at us to show them who they can and should be.” Just so, Harriet Stanton Blatch hangs on the words of her mother. She has a look of intensity. She feels it. Blatch is nestled between her mother’s hand that holds a pen and foot that breaks the conformities of the base. She holds onto a bonnet, a symbol of the suffragist she will become. Blatch literally grew up during the suffragist movement, and when it was her time, she absorbed the sentiments of her mother’s words: “We’ve got to bring to the President, individually, day by day, week in and week out, the idea that great numbers of women want to be free, will be free.”

Alice Paul and Ida B. Wells are at the peak of the coalescence, one in their mission. Although these two women would not have marched side by side, their juxtaposition at the height of the sculpture, symbolizes their shared vision of equal rights. Neither one of these women would take no for an answer. In the photos of the suffragist women marching, they are wearing elaborate hats, an announcement of their presence in the movement. I have depicted Alice Paul and Ida B. Wells wearing such hats. Both women also hold a flag.

The portrait of Alice Paul is inspired by the photo of her draping the ratification flag with its 36th star over the balcony of the suffrage headquarters in Washington D.C. I chose to depict Paul and this celebratory moment to capture the monumental triumph of the nineteenth amendment, an accumulation of the efforts of thousands of American women. She appears youthful and weightless in this monument, and yet she was militant in her efforts. She dedicated her life to the movement and after the vote continued until her death the work for the equal rights amendment.

Ida B. Wells began her career as an activist at a young age. She fervently rallied against the practice of lynching even with the threat of being lynched herself.  Wells was known for using the pen and her voice to battle sexism, racism, and violence. In this sculpture Wells stands proudly with a flag of the United States, representing the hope for justice and the rights of every human being. The open gesture of her hand outstretched to the other women around her in this monument reinforces the invitation to join the cause.

Contributions to the monument may be made here. A 501(c)(3) status is pending. Proceeds from the sales of the maquettes make the monument possible. Please contact the National Sculptors' Guild to place the 5ft maquette in your public art program. #BePartOfTheCircle