WINTER HISER BLOG 2018

Here we are in January 2018 and we're having a freak winter freeze on the coast here in Texas.  The fall  of 2017 has been a whirlwind for my art and writing world along with the demands of teaching high school young artists.  The biggest challenge this year has been our fundraising efforts to try and get some of my art students to Africa this coming summer.  
With my art this year has seen a first place and Best of Show  in the Galveston Art Show and then a grand Placing in the NSA National Show this past fall.  I have judged 4 professional shows and met so many new friends at each outing along with quite a few speaking engagements and demo presentations.
With my writing, I promoted my 2016 book, The Ten Secrets of Love, and finished writing my first nonfiction book, after 15 years of research, Art History 4 X 4 (teaching Art History in the High School Classroom).  This new book will be available this year, 2018.  
Following my students amazing success of 2017, I hope we can stay the course, with 50 Gold medals at the Regional Visual Arts Scholastic Event and our wonderful First Place Win at the Charter School Art Fest Best in Texas!  This year we have almost 60 entries and an overwhelming amount of highly detailed inks and scratchboards!  
Fundraising has been tough, in our area, but we have had garage sales, shoe drives, painted palm frond fish, raffles, painting with a twist, and have completed quite a few murals!  All of this hard work for few money returns -so we stay at it!  Our murals were also featured on FOX 26 NEWS Houston as we painted for the Senior Citizens at Brookdale Center, their Secret Garden Mural, and the Children's Center at Mall of the Mainland Mural of Characters, the World Gym Gorilla mural at World Gym, and now the Kung Fu Panda mural.  Our art is featured in the Museum of Science in Houston with our life size African Elephant mural and we produced 12 new Zoofari Camp murals for the Houston Zoo.   My students were also involved with painting with me the eight foot tall San Marcos Mermaid Sculpture and attended the Mermaid Festival for the unveiling!