“Sacred Dance,” steel sculpture by Elk Woman
“Sacred Dance,” a magnificent steel sculpture of an Indian pony, was created by Elk Woman (Kathy Whitman). It is .75 life size. She created this sculpture Jan. 2003 at her studio in Phoenix, Arizona.
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Elk Woman (Kathy Whitman) was raised on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. She is enrolled as a member of the Mandan Tribe. At a Sun Dance ceremony in South Dakota she was given the name Elk Woman.
Kathy states, “The horse’s spirit is sacred to my people. The horse helped provide a way of life to my people. Because of this kind of support from the horse, my people hold him sacred.”
About the artist
Elk Woman
Creating strong loving pieces of art is Kathy Whitman-Elk Woman's passion. Elk Woman started her training during childhood, with nature being her teacher and companion, honing her skills of imagination and inspiration or her art.
She channels her inspiration from all of nature and her ancestors. Kathy Whitman-Elk Woman specialties include two-dimensional art as well as three-dimensional.
Kathy Whitman-Elk Woman is an award-winning artist, in various media, based in Phoenix, Arizona. With an extensive body of work, Kathy Whitman-Elk Woman combines artistic flair with technical skill to create art that is full of love and spiritual feeling. Her work reflects both an artistic vision as well as the personality of her subjects.
Kathy Whitman-Elk Woman, comes from the Mandan-Hidatsa-Arikara Nation, on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota along the Missouri River. She is also of Norwegian descent from her mother. She credits her children and grandchildren for her inspiration and relishes their input. From them comes love and happiness. Her art echoes that love.
It was during a Sun Dance Ceremony in 1977, in South Dakota that she received her Indian name, Elk Woman. The ceremony transformed her life and guided her on a stronger path. That experience helped her to reconnect with her traditional spiritual ways and guided her toward a more positive direction.
Her vibrancy as an artist, is exemplified by an ever-changing variation on themes and media, reaching to flowing abstractions that defy a singular description to detailed realism.
She is a stone and metal sculptor, painter, jeweler and fashion and furniture designer. Recycling materials is her latest endeavor which she is passionate about. It's also an ancient practice that she feels, needs to be rekindled. "I want to inspire people to reuse, reduce and recycle as well as being proactive in taking care of the sacred Mother Earth." Her creations from recycled aluminum cans, range from jewelry to monumental sculptures.
Elk Woman works hard, sets goals, and has grown into her Indian name. The elk is an animal with great endurance and grace, and among the northern plains tribes, the elk is associated with love. Elk Woman's art captures that great healing power of love. People buy her art because it makes them feel good.
Knowledgeable buyers from around the world, collect her work. She has received many prestigious awards and participated in numerous exhibitions. She is also a member of the Indigenous Sculptor Society.
"In creating art, it is a continuously changing and growing, as in life. Every endeavor is an adventure!" Enjoy!! Much love and good blessings!
