Today we’d like to introduce you to Linda Parks.
Hi Linda, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Hi I’m Linda Parks, the owner of the Heron House Gallery.
So you can get to know me a little bit better-I’m going to start by telling you 6 fun things about me
1. I love color- (Turquoise in particular)
2. Michael J Foxx is one of my favorite actors
3. I talk to stuffed animals
4. My love language is Salmon
5. I am an identical Twin
6. Whenever “Forever and Ever” by Randy Travis comes on my husband and I stop whatever we are doing and dance.
Now, I’m going to tell you a story about a woman who never gave up on her dream. Life sometimes forced her to stray from it, But She always came back to her passion to create.
When I was 5 my parents hired a puppet group to be at my birthday party. And obviously I had no idea, but that would set the stage (no pun intended) for my journey.
About as early as I can remember I was creative in some way, knitting, crocheting, sewing or building some creation.
I was maybe 9 or 10 and my sister and I had gone away to a girl scout camp for the summer. When I came home my mom had bought me a muppet.
My parents heard that that puppeteer from my 5th birthday party had passed away and his wife was selling his stage.
I remember my sister and I begging my Dad to go see it. The idea of playing with my newly created muppets on a real stage – WOW.
So, what’s a Dad to do when begged by 2 little girls- .
And this started my next 10-year journey in becoming a professional puppeteer.
My Twin sister and I called ourselves the Puppetwins. And we performed all over the Greater Detroit area. We built our sets, our puppets, and were invited to perform, well everywhere. Written up in many newspapers and even featured on the TV local news several times.
At 21, I had moved to Austin Texas and was working at Motorola with an electrical engineering degree. I did a few puppet shows in the next few years, but eventually the puppets were boxed up as dating and enjoying the Austin night life became more important. Through all the corporate work, though. my creativity never ceased.
Time passed and I married and had children
My oldest Son (Bryan) came along and was Well, ADHD . They say there’s a “spectrum” of ADHD- well he was on the VERY side of the spectrum.
At the time-My husband wrote a children’s book based on Bryan. It’s the story of Clayton, a Donkey with ADHD who eventually finds his place in life.
So, naturally, I began a book publishing company and published the story. This was long before self publishing existed and it was a learning experience to get a book published.
The book got published – again being naïve I thought this was gonna be the next big childrens book – Bigger than Peter Rabbit, bigger than Charletts web- SOOO and I had 10,000 copies printed. Pallets of books arrived. Yeah I wish I had a photo of the expression on my face when THAT truck arrived.
Well- It was available for many years at bookstores like book people and Barnes and Nobel. I think it’s still on amazon. But not becoming the major hit I expected (warner brothers never contacted me about movie rights- imageine that) SOOOO with thousands left- I donated a bulk of them to the Scholastic Book Fair association.
After my third child was born, I have left the corporate world to raise my family. In my spare time I would refinish furniture for friends in my garage.
Once my youngest was in kindergarten I decided to make my refinishing hobby bigger and started doing this on a larger scale,
And of course the natural progression of any hobby is to eventually purchasing a building and start a corporation right?– So I did- I called it Lockhart Woodworks, Inc. In the beginning-I stripped furniture by Day and parented by night.
In the years that followed, I morphed my furniture refinishing business into one of the predominate high end cabinet shop in Austin Texas called LWi Custom Cabinets, that I worked for 22 years -until about 4 years ago when I decided to retire.
During this time I won 2 Stevie awards for Woman in Business as well as Top Woman Owned Business by the Austin Business Journal. And the 2018 Austin Small Business association person of the Year.
In 2014, And I met and married my current husband, Wayne.
A rancher from Abileen, rodeo guy, semi pro golfer, and motorcycle racer.
When we were dating he took me to see him race his motorcycle. After watching just that one races- I put my foot down- if your gonna marry me, no more mototcycles, racing. So he switching to cars racing- At least they have a roll bar.
If you follow my on FB site you will see our adventures. Pulling a 54’ race car hauler and Racing across the country from California to Florida.
We call them our Race-cations, and as a side note- He won the 2024 GTX SCCA championship last year.
About 4 months after we were married. My husband took a job in Evansville Indiana, It was to last 3-5 years getting a company on its feet. I spent a lot of time on airplanes commuting back to Austin monthly for my cabinet business.
Well after 3 years the job ended in Indiana and we knew we were coming back to Texas. So we started looking for a new town to move to.
I suggested we explore Granbury, My husband was like- what! there nothing there. -But I insisted and we flew to Dallas and drove into town. We stopped on the square at Devine wine. The square for so vibrant- I immediately loved Granbury. He was still Iffy.
But on our way back to Dallas, Driving up 377 Wayne saw a Porsche zooming by and literally did a 360 turn on the hwy and drove into the cresson motorsport ranch. -Well, that’s all it took for him. Granbury it was!
We moved here and my husband decided to take early retirement and join me in running my Cabinetry company and together we commuted to Austin for the next 3 years. Staying there Mon-Thur each week then back home to Granbury for 3 days. It started to get old. And that’s when I decided it was time to retire from it.
Through everything. I had never stopped doing my art.
For any of you that may have read my blog on my web site have read the story of how I began my painting hobby (Hint- go read my blog) .
I had been doing festival art shows for many years now. I’d always had a dream of opening an art gallery from the start -but the downtown Granbury area was insanely expensive. So that dream was put on hold- until last year when I started the Heron House Gallery- slightly off the square.
Then last June casually browsing real estate listing on line I found where I am now. Last Sept I moved it to my new location on Plaza Dr.
I’m often asked why the name Heron House Gallery? Well Why Heron House?
I choose the name because the Heron is my spirit animal.
They are gracefully and remind us of how importance elegance and gentleness are in our chaotic world. Herons have great adaptability. they accept things as they are and make situations work in their favor. No matter what is happening in the outside world, if we can manage our own emotions and reactions, and maintain a level of calm and self-possession, we can influence outcomes.
Herons remind us to reach for the stars. The sky’s the limit, so dream big!
And that is what I have done- And I invite you all to come see my DREAM-
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No journey is smooth- if it were it wasn’t done properly.
Running Heron House Gallery is both joyful and challenging. One of the biggest hurdles is keeping the gallery fresh and exciting so that every visit feels like a discovery. Art is deeply personal, and what speaks to one person may not connect with another, so there’s always the challenge of choosing work that feels true to the spirit of the gallery while still surprising and inspiring visitors. With limited space, curating becomes a delicate balancing act—every piece has to earn its place, and tough choices are part of the process.
Events add another layer of challenge. They’re wonderful for bringing people together and creating a sense of community, but they also require careful thought—finding the right artist collaborations, shaping experiences that feel engaging rather than routine, and making sure guests leave with a sense of wonder. The biggest goal, and sometimes the hardest, is ensuring that the gallery continues to feel alive: not just a place to see art, but a place where people connect, linger, and feel something they won’t find in ordinary spaces.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
The Heron House Gallery has been one of the most fun things I have done. I love every day. Meeting art minded and art loving people every day.
If you haven’t been- I say it’s NOT YOUR AVERAGE ART GALLERY- and well it’s not. I have art from over 39 people around the country. The gallery represents my somewhat quirky personality. I wanted a gallery that wasn’t like any other, Vibrant, bright, and most of all FUN.
My goal is to make you smile when you walk in and say “ wow- I didn’t expect this”
And to add to the fun every Thursday I am open late till 7 pm when we have a little party from 3-7pm with Wine and snacks and I showcase a different artists each week.
When you come into the Heron House Gallery, you’re not a customer, you’re a friend- So come say Hi.
It’s been a hell of a ride- And I’m not done yet!
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Oh- the lessons I learned in my years, A few years before I sold off my cabinet shop I wrote a book on my experiences running it and the hard lessons I learned running a company. , I wrote about all the completely crazy things that happened in those years. It’s a humorous book because if you can’t laugh at yourself and what you’ve been through in life- then you are WAY too serious.
I really wrote it for myself, but others liked it so I published it -It’s called “You can’t make this stuff up”
Back when I began working there were no “apps” or podcasts. Blogs were just starting to become a thing. So I’d have to say that reading books was my way of learning. I learned to speed read as a child which helped a lot, I would often go to half price books, sit down on the floor and browse books for hours.
Pricing:
- $35-$2500
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.heronhousegallery.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heronhousegallery
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552005730107
- Yelp: Heron House Gallery
Image Credits
all photos were taken by me
