Creativity--My Two Sons

     Amy Johnson Crow has a 52 Ancestors Week blog challenge which I have decided to join.  I am hoping it may help me to pinpoint someone or something that I have researched and not blogged about on Flipside.  AND push me to blog about family each week in 2024.  Sometimes I get lazy. 😁  Let's see how well I keep up.

     Week # 22 (May 27-June 2) is Creativity.   my two sons

          This is a brag on my two son's blog, both artistically talented.  

     My eldest son, Aric, now deceased, was busy drawing from a very early age.  In high school, by his senior year, he was taking art classes in photography and drawing.

TKO
Award Winner
Cinder Block with black and white dots

In Bloom
Cigarette filters

    

       He graduated from Ohio State with honors and a bachelor of fine arts degree.  While at OSU, Aric's primary artistic focus was installation art; however, he also presented works in photography and because he was talented in theater as a high schooler, he did performance art.  

Nuclear Family

     From OSU, Aric was admitted into the Fine Arts Department at the University of Maryland to begin his Masters Degree.  He was able to complete one semester before illness   

     Aric's art was often edgy, always creative and left the viewer thinking.   

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     My son Garrett is a very talented sketch artist.  His ability began to show in elementary school and middle school with his little doodles on school notebooks and pieces he drew in art classes.  Soon Christmas and birthday gifts were sketch books.  A gamer, his art tended toward fantasy figures and dragons in particular.  

      In middle school he participated in art shows and in high school he was awarded a one semester scholarship to the Cleveland Museum of Art.

   

Garrett presenting his stole of honor
to his brother
2012 graduating Magna Cum Laude

     A time came when he put his sketching materials away and began writing.  A short play that he wrote while in community college was performed on stage.  Garrett graduated from the two year program and entered Cleveland State as an English major, continuing to write and graduating magna cum laude.  

     He immediately entered the Master's Degree program in English, concentrating on Black American writers and graduated in 2016 with a Degree of Master of Art in English.

     Imaginative, concise and edgy portrayals define Garrett's writing and his art. 

     So proud of the creativity of both of my sons and I think it is a combination of Hiser and Hughes genetics.

 

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published.    PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2024, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Advent Calendar Day 18--Christmas Stockings

Back in the day, I was a fairly crafty person....no, not sly....crafty! A good friend and I were babysitters....home daycare providers, if you will. During naptime, every afternoon, we would bring out our latest craft project.....sit, sew and watch daytime soaps, while the kids slept.


Sometime before 1984, I handcrafted Christmas stockings for my boys. I guess we must have been into Snoopy and Charlie Brown back then.

These same two stockings have hung on the mantel ever since....although now that they are adults, they are purely decorative.

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

Advent Calendar Day 15--Holiday Happenings

Jumping ship here....I have decided to add a new category to my post listings....Growing Up Hiser....which features memories of my two sons. How adorable are they....sitting there with Old Santa back in 1984. Let's see...Aric would have been 6 and Garrett, 3.

What Cleveland kid doesn't have memories of this?
I was an "almost" full time working gal back then...almost being the operational word. I would find a day during the week early in December when I drove the boys into Cleveland for a day with Santa, Mr. Jingeling, and lunch. The MO always was....park in the May Company parking lot...head up to the May Company Santa Floor early for the annual visit and photo op....ride the little train....head over to Higbees for lunch.....see Mr. Jingleling, get the Good Luck cardboard key...be fascinated by Bruce the Talking Spruce....and finally, send the two boys into the Santa Shop to purchase items for the family.

Just talking with my oldest son this morning by phone brought back this annual trip and pushed me to relive the memory. Later in the day I asked Garrett if he had fond memories of our day visiting Santa. Always the comic, he responded, "I don't remember Santa being the focus in my mind. It was Bruce the Spruce that was interesting. It was like going to Oz and seeing the Wizard....you just knew there was a man hiding behind that tree making his eyes move and doing the voice."

I think we were still going when Aric was in middle school and Garrett was past the "I believe" age. I was still able to pursuade them to do the photo (it was a Mom thing); however we primarily just wandered around the Santa Floor, enjoyed a few laughs with Bruce the Spruce and had lunch!

By that time in their young lives, it was....in a word....TRADITION.




© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

Advent Calendar Dec 9--Aric's Church

     This little hand crafted church has become one of the treasured family Christmas decorations over the years. It was purchased in 1982 by my son, Aric, when he was in Kindergarten. 

     Several weeks before Christmas, the school's PTA annually sponsored a Santa's Shop. The students were able to buy presents for their family members for a reasonable price and all the proceeds went to the PTA. Aric went to school that day with a five dollar bill and could purchase three gifts....one for me....one for his father....and one for his brother. 

     Entering the Santa's Shop, Aric browsed around looking from table to table until he saw the little white church. Having made his decision he approached the kind lady behind the table and said he wanted to buy the church. He handed her his five dollar bill and she handed him a bag with the church inside. Aric began to cry.....where was his money? He still had two more gifts to purchase and no more money. As a little fellow, he just assumed that three items would add up to five dollars.....not that one item would cost the entire amount he had been given to spend. 

     When I arrived at school to pick Aric up following class that day, his teacher told me this story with a smile on her face. My son was still upset as he only had one gift. The gift became one for the entire family and has been showcased every Christmas beside the old Hughes creche from the 1950's. 

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

The Passing of the Grand Dame

Our little Christmas Kitten aka Christie.....born on Halloween, or near it, back in 1990 passed today at the age of 20. A holiday gift to my youngest son, he went with me to the Cleveland Animal Shelter to pick out his own kitten.

Truth be told, Christie was not the one that caught my eye....but after all, it was my son's choice and the small little black and white puff ball came home. I have to laugh when I think that her ears were almost larger than her head. Thankfully, she grew into them.

We will miss you Miss Chris....you have brought us 20 years of joy, smiles and love.

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

What's Not To Like--Garrett's first kayak

Ken has found one of the BEST places to put our kayaks in.....The Michael J. Kirwan Dam and Reservoir which is located in The West Branch State Park outside the town of Ravenna, Ohio.

I have made two treks to this delightful spot with Ken and yesterday we took my son, Garrett, for his first ever kayaking experience.


Garrett took the "getting situated and steady in a kayak" learning curve in stride and off he went. It was exciting to watch a newbie get his water wings, take off and show such enjoyment in the experience.

And what an experience he had!!! We had three separate sightings of great blue heron and a doe down by the water having a drink. I have to tell ya that being up close and personal with a great blue taking flight yards away just takes my breath away!



Our paddle was primarily up the West Branch of the Mahoning River....very calm and serene water. Hopefully next time, we will explore it more.

This tree reminded me of a tall lady with a green hat & skirt!
Garrett spotted this great blue heron
Heading out into the reservoir...down the middle....NO FEAR!
Back to the cars

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

No Monday Madness on Flipside--A New Graduate

I hope readers will allow me a little latitude here today to toot my family horn. My youngest son received his diploma by mail last week. Sadly, he missed cum laude by a miniscule percentage, but on the FLIPSIDE....he is now a graduate and will be moving on to Cleveland State University to finish up his final two years.


CONGRATULATIONS GARRETT

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

A Family Graduation

     I am pleased to announce that my youngest son, Garrett, has graduated from Lorain County Community College this semester. He has made application to Cleveland State University for the summer semester. Declared major will be English. Garrett has a genuine talent for writing.

     Tonight family and friends gathered at Henry's at the Barn in Avon, Ohio for a celebratory dinner.

Congratulations Garrett.

© 2009, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

Look Out!! Proud Mama on deck

This past weekend my oldest son, Aric and his fiancee and partner in art, Jeannine, had a table at the Waterloo Flea Market. Their photo was posted on Flickr and, of course, Mom had to grab it. No luck with capturing it from the website. This is a print and scan rendition. The better shot is out on Flickr.

Their art site Dead Dog Jubilee and yes, they both love animals!