[4] In 2007, on Earth Day, she completed a 210' long Ephemeral Environmental Sculpture Installation, called Water is Life for the Louisville Zoo, an AZA and AAM Museum, with the help of 20 volunteers.

Diane Heilenman, Visual Arts Critic for the Courier Journal stated, "The work, 'Water is Life,' fits the context of all her sculptures and paintings, which are often about environmental issues.

[citation needed] In 2018, her work honoring Alice Allison Dunnigan, the first African American female to receive White House and Congressional credentials, was unveiled at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.[6] The statue of Alice Dunnigan traveled extensively[7] and was featured for programming at Kentucky State University, University of Kentucky, and the Truman Presidential Library.

[8] The bronze sculpture of Alice Dunnigan now permanently stands at the SEEK Museum in Russellville, Kentucky, which was added to the United States civil rights trail in 2020.

While Nettie's influence was not statewide, the Historic Properties Advisory Commission considered her a representative example of Kentucky women who achieved professional and personal success.