History
Country Arts Gallery Gift & Frames
by Linda Hass
owner-operators
Linda & Danny Hass
1976-2008
(Click to enlarge the photos)
Why, you are asking? Why is
she
writing this history of Country Arts Gallery? Maybe because is feels like my legacy to leave the
memories for my children. Why here on this website? This website is
a part of this history. It must have started a long time ago when I was a
young teenager living with my parents in Temple, TX. I always love the
arts and crafts. My mother and I was always making something. It was my dream to have a Gift Shop. I took every art
class I could take when I was in Junior High and High School. I did not
get to go to collage.
After I met and married
Danny in 1962 and started our family in Houston. We had 2 children, Renee, and
Kevin. I dabbled with oil painting a
couple of years then took a few classes. I started working part time at
The Art Cove where I taught my first Oil Painting Class. I stayed a few step
ahead of students. I taught for 1 year. Danny and I started
taking my paintings to Art Shows in
San Antonio, Austin, Houston and a few small towns around Texas. We found
I had a talent that was marketable. They liked my paintings.
In 1976, we decided get out
of the big city and move to the country. I had mixed feelings cause I was
doing something I loved, painting and teaching. We found a
beautiful location luscious Live Oak trees on a hilltop with a view near the
small rural town of La Grange, TX. The bluebonnet were just coming up. We
fell in love with this part of the country with its old barns and windmills.
Danny promised me I could open my own studio and gallery if we could find
something we could afford.
We bought a small building in the
Riverside area of La Grange. We painted it orange and white. We
opened Country Arts Gallery I. I ran the gallery alone because Danny had
still had to work in Houston for 3 year. I started teaching a few art classes and
workshops in the gallery and in surrounding towns. My classes grew to 6
classes a week. During this time I painted 3 murals. I
painted my first mural on the side Country Arts Gallery I depicting Fayette Country landscape
as you can see in the photo. I sold my paintings. I stocked picture frames
designed for oil painting and art
supplies, both mainly for my art students. Later I added custom framing. Five years later in late 1982 we found our
building was in need of an expensive repair that we could not afford so we put
the building up for sale and I took a job as a floral designer for 2
years.
1981 to 1983 I worked as a
Floral Designer.
1983 to 1989 I taught art lessons at
Hill Top Studio that was a part of my home and sold my paintings at local restaurants.
In 1989 Danny, son Kevin opened Home
Run Baseball Cards.
The building we rented had
more room then they need for the baseball card shop. So I re-opened
Country Arts Gallery Frames & Gift II on the corner of Travis and Monroe.
My custom framing caught on well as could be expected in a small town but before
I knew it I was drawing business from all over Fayette County. I had time to do my
Oil Painting.
I started teaching oil painting classes again. We sold antiques and
home decor
gifts. During this time, 1990 - 1993, Danny and I went through a our Dollhouse period.
We built about 9 dollhouse and room-boxes that made our Gallery became a site-seeing
stop for many visitors to La Grange. See
Dollhouse Museum. I also started
painting stepping stones for the gardeners. I
painted t-shirts and sweat-shirts.
In
May 2002 the new owner of our
building decided to go up on the rent and would not fix the air-conditioning
or heating. Danny decided it was time to for him to retire Home Run Baseball Cards
and himself. I felt I had a few more year of work left in me.
We moved my half of the business to a new location at 1634 Hwy 71
West, La Grange and opened Country
Arts Gallery III.
More about:
Country Arts Gallery III
2002 to 2008
December 31, 2008 Country Arts Gallery Frames &
Gifts, 1634 Hwy 71 West, La Grange, TX CLOSED its doors forever.
We no longer have a Storefront business. After closing the store front I
reworked the website for our Online Business. This is what your seeing now.
Thanks for your visits and business.
*
