I’m in the final stages of a digital emblazonment of arms designed for my father-in-law, John Hricik, and thought I would share the shield. The design is based on a suggestion by Michael Medvedev on the HSS forum and refers to a passage in the works of St. Gregory of Neocaesarea (the Wonderworker), who compared the divine love that entered his heart to a spark from heaven. The name Hricik is a diminutive of Hrihory, Slovak for Gregory.
http://www.americanheraldry.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=859&stc=1&d=1306034471
Sable issuant from dexter chief a spark Or striking and irradiating a heart Argent.
And the full digital achievement:
http://www.americanheraldry.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=860&stc=1&d=1306041436
(This was supposed to save as a PNG with transparent background; not sure what happened.)
Very nice Joseph, a striking design
Love it!
And here’s the full achievement.
http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeohzt4/heraldry/HricikAchievement.PNG
The crest shows a stylized depiction of the column of St. Gregory at Haghia Sophia in Istanbul, which is famous for "weeping" a miraculous health-giving elixir, between two deer antlers argent, referring to the arms of John’s paternal home village of Davidov in eastern Slovakia.
Bravo!
I’ve now added the last element, my father-in-law’s Distinguished Career Award that he received on retirement from the Veterans Administration.
Very nice. I really like the design itself, it’s very unique.
Wow that is a very beautiful and unique design. I love it!
Very striking and well done. Bravo!
Very unique and striking. Well done sir.
Very nice!
Joseph, well done. It’s a very striking and memorable design. Hope your father-in-law enjoys it and uses it.
Very nice, Joseph. It’s thoughtful, original, and still strikingly simple. I would love to see other artists’ interpretations of the blazon.
I’m surprised, though, given your expertise, that anyone in your family who would assume arms hadn’t already - you must have a very light touch when it comes to proselytizing.
This will make a beautiful banner!—I can picture it hanging outside his house for the world to admire.
(and that may well be the most effective form of proselytizing—others seeing how nice it looks and asking…)
I’m also picturing the other, more direct form…Joe in white shirt, tie & jacket knocking on doors and passing out copies of the AHS Guidelines…
Well, my father-in-law loved everything except the decoration hanging from the shield. He thought it detracted from the arms.
And I swear I haven’t been proselytizing, either on heraldry generally or on "less is more"!