Today we’d like to introduce you to Betty Hargis.
Betty, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
After raising 3 children (one is a grandchild), my career spanned 23 years in the editorial field at LifeWay Christian Resources in Nashville, TN. (LifeWay produces and publishes Christian teaching materials for schools and churches).
After retirement, I married my best friend Randall and moved from Hendersonville to Clarksville. Now, there is time for my creative endeavors creating, designing, and marketing hand-drawn greeting cards (under my logo B-Lou-J Designs).
In 2017, while browsing a local artist supply store, my granddaughter Cathleen insisted I sign up for their scheduled oil painting classes. I am quick to share with all who will listen…by the end of those five sessions, it was “love from the first brush stroke.” Travel made continuing classes impossible so learning independently became part of every new day.
More than 125 paintings off my easel (each subject chosen to learn a new technique or style) some commissioned pieces, gifts for family and friends, and oil paintings remain my JOY and LOVE. Today as a new member of our local Downtown Art Cooperative (DAC), a new and exciting journey has begun.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Finding a suitable space to accommodate painting was one. A dining room table worked nicely. As with many newly discovered gifts and talents, there are a few challenges. Every home has only so many walls to hang an unknown artist’s paintings.
The challenge…Art is a very personal thing. From the beginning, call me optimistic, I did not want my “loves” to be stored in a closet or hidden under the bed. The solution…with permission I honed my skills on subjects I could “gift”(unknown to them at the start). I could learn and share the “joy of giving” with no strings attached.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
In my young adult life, I loved being a wife, homemaker, and mother. A joyful creative time raising my children. I am very proud of my son Lawrence. My daughter Amy, and my granddaughter Cathleen (and my great-grandson Lucas). Life events changed my direction into a 23-year career of editorial work on children’s literature.
It was during this time, that I became a single grandmother raising my precious five-year-old granddaughter. My newfound identity and working for a publishing company opened doors to several published works in poetry and several articles to inform and encourage grandparents raising grandchildren. (Also, I was able to publish at least 30 different designs of my greeting cards). While writing these articles, I learned I was not alone.
My research revealed as many as four million grandparents were stepping into this arena. No doubt that number has greatly increased in light of society today. Traumatic, life-changing events transform and train the heart to be open to others as a witness to what God can do. Encouraging others became part of my story.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Think outside of your box. We all have one. One we make for ourselves or one others try to fit us into. As a young child I “knew” drawing was a gift. All my friends and family wanted me to draw them “something.” Which I was happy to do…for a nickel, a dime, or a quarter. My spending money as a kid.
For a time I thought my only and most important work/calling was to be a devoted wife, a creative homemaker, and raise my children in a loving, Godly home. I thank God for allowing me my greatest accomplishment. My first real “box”. Still young in my mind, I thought a career was to be an important part of my identity.
Yet being a career person was not a path I would have purposefully chosen..but here goes. I love learning. Working in Nashville, in a 2500-employee-strong company, with endless learning opportunities filled me with excitement. I liked my new, challenging “box.” Fast forward a few years to a tragic event in my daughter’s life- an auto accident changed our family forever. That day, I became a single grandmother raising a grandchild alone, through shock and grief, I realized…God has other plans. I came to understand His Plan would not be a “one-woman show” but would include a village of caring people all around me. My new “box” no longer fit.
Just imagine the next 15 years…choose a home (near the recommended rehab for my daughter’s recovery from a head injury). Hendersonville is a good choice. It must be near good schools, then leap into Kindergarten and after-school childcare and schedules to accommodate the needs for a good life. Then middle school with PTO, soccer, childcare and all that just flashed through your mind. High school, band, Color Guard, mean girls, a house full of girls, and slumber party every other week. Every place you go is with a car full of girls.
Almost everyone thinks I am an expert on kids and child rearing because I’m old and doing it the second time around. Enough said. Cathleen gets a job and saves to pay half on her first car. Oh no, first wreck. No injury. Lessons learned. Second car. Finally, my beautiful, smart granddaughter is highly motivated to step into the homeschool environment. She graduates early and off to college she goes. Ahhhh my “box” is empty.
The weekly dates with my best friend Randall changed from double dates with two or three girls to… making our own choices of destination and curfew. Nice! My burst of freedom did not last long. A proposal, acceptance, a ring, a sale of my home, a sweet wedding planned by my granddaughter, and a brand new “box”. Happy days, Randall and my family are my greatest supporters, my fans.
They request paintings for their homes. And I am happy to paint away. But there is more. I am learning to paint with acrylics. I am pleased with two pieces off my easel and the gifts to my sister and granddaughter. Watercolor is still a mystery to me. Yet, the one piece, suitable for framing, has become one of my personal favorites.
There is joy in sharing a gift with others. I have gathered a few friends at my kitchen table to explore their interest in painting. I love it! I like to think that…my box has an open door.
Pricing:
- 16×20 (depending on subject) $300-$400
- 11×14 (same as above) $175-$275
- 8×10 (same as above) $85-125
- 24×36 (depending on subject) $500-$700
- 36×48 depending on the subject) $800-up
Image Credits
C G Roach Photography
