Oklahoma
Tonkawa
Heart in the Park Labyrinth, Designed by Marty Kermeen
Design collaboration with Jeff Saward
(Photo by Ken Crowder)
By
Ken Crowder
The town
of Tonkawa, OK recently saw the exciting completion of Phase 1 of
a project called Heart In the Park, or HIP, for short.
Tonkawa, is known as the Wheatheart of Oklahoma, as wheat is a major
crop in this part of the state. In February, 2006, Audrey and Ken
Crowder concieved the idea of a heart shaped labyrinth which would
be surrounded by
an
historical timeline of the city of Tonkawa.
After researching the construction of labyrinths, a committee of
15 dedicated and hard working volunteers, decided to hire Marty Kermeen
to develop and design the labyrinth. Marty is one of the best, if
not the best, labyrinth builders in the world. He and his wife Debi
own and operate the company Labyrinths In Stone, a division of their
parent company, Artistic Pavers.
We found out that it is one thing to talk about a heart shaped labyrinth,
and another thing to design one that is actually capable of being
built, and retaining the inherent heart shape. Marty made many drawings
and they were narrowed down to one. With the assistance of labyrinth
historian and author, Jeff Saward, of the UK, Marty presented us
with a beautiful design that could actually be built.
Marty and his assistant Jorge Puga, arrived in Tonkawa,
and 18 days later, the labyrinth was completed. Marty and Jorge are
truly amazing to watch. They don't know the meaning of a day off
once they start the construction of a project. Seeing them
produce this beautiful labyrinth with such
care and meticulous perfection, everyone who comes to see the project,
have come away
with respect and admiration for what Marty and Jorge have done.