Friday, January 2, 2009

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged. Actually twice. The first time by Barb Pask and just recently by Toni Kelly. I've been so busy I haven't had time to respond to the first tag so I will do them both at once.

Here are a few things about me:
  1. When I was three I lived in Scotland. The things I remember are a red snowsuit I had, huge snowflakes as big as my hand, and tall, tall windows in the musty smelling house we lived in. That was the first time I had seen wallpaper on walls. I remember too the beautiful colorful flowers in the gardens.
  2. When I was eight I lived in the Philippines on Clark Air Force Base. I have more memories of that experience. One was when we went to a monastery where the monks made silver jewelry. He wanted to take me down these narrow stairs to see an angle - I was scared to death! As it turned out at the end of the stairs was a mirror and looking back at me was my reflection. By the time I got there though I was crying not sure what was going to happen.
  3. When I was 13 I lived in Hawaii. I was teased badly by some local girls at my school because of my Texas accent. After that I practiced hard to get rid of it. When we came home and I went over to my girlfriend's house next door I ended up rolling on the floor laughing at her accent - which was just like mine was - I just hadn't heard it in a couple of years. Sadly I don't have much of an accent any more - just when I'm around those with thicker accents does it come out.
  4. I learned how to do stained glass and sandblasting when my daughter was in grade school. I ended up working in the stained glass studio for many years and teaching classes occasionally. For a while I even designed and built custom stained glass windows in my garage for a builder to earn extra money.
  5. I learned how to ride a horse at the age of 40. After some horrible experiences with a bad, dishonest, trainer I found a great reining trainer and he found the perfect horse for me, Billy Bob, a bay Appaloosa. He was four and just broke to ride. We learned reining together and what a great experience that was! I still have Billy Bob - he'll be 21 in April.
  6. I love chocolate! LOL - didn't know what else to put down here but that is a fact.

It seems there are a lot of bloggers who have been tagged recently so I hate to tag them again so soon. I'm not naming as many as the rules state but if you wish to join in you're tagged too.

I'm tagging Marsha Robinett, Diane Wright , Regina Burchett and Helen Read. All are fantastic artists in their own right. Please visit their blogs - I know you will enjoy them very much.

So here are the rules:
1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog.
3) Write six or seven random things about yourself.
4) Tag six or seven people at the end of your post and link to them.
5) Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Karen, wow how wonderful to read a bit about you. I take it your Dad must have been in the Air force. Sometimes I think it would be great living in different places. I'm afraid I have only lived here in PA.
And oh my I am jealous that you learned to ride a horse at age 40 and it is an Appaloosa. Every time I go to the fair I have to check out the horse barns. Thanks for talking about yourself.

Celeste Bergin said...

snowflakes as big as your hand! wow!

Pattie Wall said...

I think those early experiences have an effect on your art life. You lived in some what I consider cool places! Do you still ride Billy Bob? Have you painted him?

Karen Hargett said...

Hi Toni - Yep Daddy was in the Air Force. We didn't travel as much as others and were lucky to always be able to go back to our hometown of San Antonio. However, it was hard leaving my friends and family and going to different schools. I was terribly shy.

I feel so blessed to have BillyBob. Learning to ride late in life gave me different experiences I'm sure than if I had learned to ride as a child. I learned a lot about myself and what I could do. It was one of those great times in my life that I will never forget!

Celeste thanks for dropping in. Yes the snowflakes were as big as my hand - a 3 year old's hand. I understand it doesn't snow much in Scotland these days.

Hi Pattie! Yes I think our life experinces do have an effect on our art too.

I don't ride BillyBob much any more unfortunately. But he brings me great joy everyday as I look out in my pasture or when it's time to feed - even if it is 5:30 in the morning. There is something magical about that time.

I have painted and drawn Billy Bob. Most all the originals are hanging in my livingroom. I don't have the pastel that is hanging on my fireplace on my website but you can see some of the drawings here: http://www.karenhargettfineart.com/gal_horse1.htm Running Wild, BillyBob, and Time for a Nap are of BillyBob. He is on my list to paint this year so keep an eye out for another one ;-)