Page 11 - Amarillo Senior Link Magazine Summer 2019- Online Magazine
P. 11
Ken is also an avid
gardener, both in his
home garden and his
greenhouse. He grows
orchids - according
to him, "some more
successfully than
others." He enjoys
photographically,
of course, recording
what he grows. He
is a proud “Master
had discussed for years Gardener” - class
having something of 2002, affiliated with the Randall
painted on that wall but County Extension Service. He has
had not found the right a large pond in his backyard with
design. Ken was asked many koi fish and has given talks to
to present what he could civic groups about landscape design
do to make the area and water gardening. Ken has been
come to life. He created involved at the Amarillo Botanical
When Ken was a student at South a beautiful mosaic Gardens for more than 20 years,
Plains College, he had an art teacher backdrop for the statue. serving as President of the Board
who did a mosaic on the side of a from 2016 to 2018.
building at SPC. The dream of doing Ken has also created several other
the same thing stayed with Ken mosaics in Amarillo, Lubbock and In April of 2018, Ken was named
throughout his years of teaching, Houston. At the Amarillo Botanical Professor Emeritus at Amarillo
so when he retired from Amarillo Gardens, Ken has a mosaic of the College. To receive this honor, a
College, he decided to pursue Palo Duro Lighthouse in the Palo professor must be retired for 10 years
that dream of creating mosaics. Duro Gardens. Two years ago, or more. It was an honor that both
He developed a system to design he designed an iris mosaic at the humbled him and honored his work
mosaics with Photoshop, creating front gate in honor of Jane Meyers, at AC. He has impacted the lives
pixels on a grid instead of using the after her 50 years of service to the of hundreds of students, teaching
traditional method of placing broken Gardens. them how to use their creative eye to
pieces of tile. He met the Texas Tech Athletic capture the beauty of the world.
He did his first mosaic at Amarillo Director at a TTU Alumni meeting Ken and Tarrie Sue are members of
College in honor of Louise Daniel, in Amarillo and discussed with him the Polk Street United Methodist
an Amarillo native who taught 40 what they were going to do in the Church where Ken is an active
years in AISD and was a Regent at way of art in the newly renovated member of Methodist Men and the
Amarillo College. After she retired, football stadium. That connection Aldersgate Sunday School Class.
she took photography classes from gave Ken the opportunity to create
Ken. She dedicated her years to eight large mosaics on the east side Art comes in so many different
education, and Ken created a mosaic concourse of Jones AT&T Stadium in forms, but with Ken Pirtle, his art
of one of her photos of Palo Duro Lubbock. spans from photography, to mosaics,
Canyon on the AC campus. He also has created murals for a to gardening. He is certainly a man
with many talents and makes a
A special mosaic in Amarillo is the movie theater owner in the Houston difference not only in our community
one he did at Llano Cemetery. There area. He has created over 20 pieces but across Texas.
was a blue wall standing on the east depicting famous actors for two
side of the grounds with a statue of of the theatres that the owner has For more on Kenneth Pirtle’s art go to:
Jesus in front of it. The Llano Board renovated. kenneth-pirtle.webmate.me
Amarillo Senior Link 11
