about connie

Connie Pirtle is a painter and sculptor who works out of her studio at her home in Hermitage, Tennessee. She has a M.F.A. in Sculpture from East Tennessee State University and a B.S. in Fine Arts from Vanderbilt University. She has worked extensively in academia, as an art educator and administrator. She was the Art Department Chair at Lipscomb University in Nashville, the State Visual Art consultant for the Tennessee Department of Education, and theVisual Arts Director for the Tennessee Arts Academy at Belmont University. She has over 20 years experience teaching art, kindergarten through college. Recently retired though, she started working on her art full-time.

With the retreat from academia, and the creative routine she now practices at her 5-acre home, Connie has had the opportunity to more fully explore some of her longstanding inspirations, like Mexican art, abstract expressionism, and Pre-Columbian pottery. Moreover, she has refocused her work and is making a conscious "effort" to "unschool" herself...