Las Cruces artist Kathy Morrow celebrates NMSU Golf Course rock mural

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- What started as a passion project for Las Cruces artist Kathy Morrow is now a gorgeous work of art for NMSU golf course visitors to enjoy.

130 volunteers worked together over the span of 17 months to build the massive rock art display.

"It's not only me communicating by making my art; I have people react to it, and then they tell me about what it meant to them," Morrow said.

The longtime artist personally outlined each of the 26 animals featured in the artwork, and community members filled in the designs with various rocks, pieces of glass and broken pottery.

"It all becomes one piece. Part of the hummingbird overlaps the NMSU (logo). Part of the dragonfly overlaps the wing on the other side. There's sort of this interaction of design and animals," Morrow added.

The mural covers a little more than half an acre of land facing the golf course clubhouse.

"I would have to work up there, guess what I was doing, and walk down to the clubhouse doors, look and see if I was right, then walk back up and fix it," she said.

Morrow and several volunteers will be honored for their hard work at Thursday's ribbon cutting ceremony, which begins at 4 p.m.