Gregory’s Art

Gregory began taking online art classes when Covid first stilled our days—learning, laughing with new friends across time zones, and keeping color moving through the quiet. In first grade, he tested into the Gifted & Talented art program.

Where I lean into mixed media—watercolor and acrylic, fluid and instinctive—Gregory is patient with graphite and colored pencil, crafting detail through hours of careful shading. When I faced breast cancer, he was five; watching him draw lit a small lamp in the dark and guided me back to my own canvas.

Here are a few of his pieces. To wander many more from his early years, click here.

Music & Performances

I hoped Gregory would find his own voice in music. He began professional lessons at the Louisiana Academy of Performing Arts when he was five—tiny hands, big piano keys, a new language taking root. For his first recital, I arrived in a wheelchair, wrapped in a gown and blanket, just home from a ten-hour breast cancer surgery. To hear my son sing and to be there for him was a grace I will never forget.

Since elementary school, he’s been part of the Gifted & Talented Music program. We share a white baby grand my husband bought for us; I learned at eight, and Gregory has already surpassed me. Now he studies piano and voice, takes guitar at LAAPA, and is learning clarinet in his school band. A special note of pride: he was the youngest from his middle school to advance through two statewide auditions and was selected to sing Tenor in the LMEA Middle School Choir.