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Dear Friends:
The remnants of Hurricane Gustav delayed my flight into St. Louis last Thursday, but I still arrived in time for a delightful evening with members of the P.B.’s Pals Chapter of the P. Buckley Moss Society. I flew into one tropical storm as another, Tropical Storm Hannah, was bearing down on Virginia. Mathews’ annual Market Days Festival was cut short by one day as the event was canceled for Saturday. There were lots of disappointed people, but everyone was grateful that the area was spared any serious damage. Residents of the Tidewater Region of Virginia take tropical storms very seriously, as well they should.
P.B.’s Pals Chapter held a special fundraising dinner and auction for their local food pantries at The Blum House, which is a historic house that I included in a painting in 2001, The Blum Belle-A Treasured Memory. Boy! What a crowd! It was wonderful to see so many people turn out in support of the food pantries. It is the Chapter’s pet project and a service that is much appreciated by so many people in the area. It was a joy to be in the company of so many good-hearted people.
P.B.’s Pals Chapter is selling raffle tickets for this lovely Longaberger Hostess Picnic Basket, which was displayed during the fundraising dinner Thursday evening. I painted a pair of geese on the top of the lid and a bunny on the underside of the lid. Proceeds will benefit local food pantries within the Collinsville, IL, community. For more information on the raffle, please contact The Art Loft at 618-344-1212. The drawing will be held December 8, 2008.
I was delighted to meet Shelby Fleming, who is a student at Collinsville High School. Shelby made a presentation to us at the fundraising dinner and showed us her cubism-style acrylic painting. During this past school year, Shelby participated in the art program funded by the P. Buckley Moss Artist Development Grant, created in the early ’90’s by The Art Loft Gallery. The grant is funded with money from fundraising events sponsored by P.B’s Pals. Shelby and 22 other students studied Picasso and his cubist art style, then tried creating their own cubism art.
Members of the local Rotary Club were at the dinner, too, and we discussed my new poster and print edition to benefit the work of Rotary International. We also talked about Rotary’s work in Tanzania and Kenya. They asked me to say a few words about my visits to the region, but it’s hard to say only a few when talking about the Tanzanians. The people have so little, and one feels so privileged when returning home after a visit to the missions.
The weather cleared up in the St. Louis area, and I had a wonderful show with my friends at The Art Loft Gallery in Collinsville, Illinois. Gallery owners Paul and Carolyn Welch, their manager Barb, their staff, and their volunteers pulled out all the stops. The gallery was beautiful, well-stocked, and Carolyn’s framing was excellent and so tasteful. The collectors seemed to love both the new St. Louis giclée and the print Yours Forever.
Staff and volunteers at The Art Loft dressed in my orange, black cat T-shirts for the show. We all had so much fun together.
Paige Todd and Pat Kirchner, pictured with the quilt above, showed me this exquisite quilt that was made by Paige’s mother many years ago. It was her favorite; and, when she passed away, Paige draped the quilt over her mother’s coffin at her wake to pay homage to her mother and her love of quilt making. I was so impressed with the pattern, fabrics, and workmanship that I asked Paige if I could borrow it for the P. Buckley Moss Museum’s month-and-a-half-long quilt display that lasts through our October 10-12 Museum Open House and Barn Show. The Museum is participating in the Central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia’s Quilt Celebration, and we are blessed to have quilts made by famous quilt designers Jinny Beyer and Rita Barber on display in addition to many others.
New Society member Janice Schnaus of Collinsville, IL, with her daughter Haley Schnaus and me. Janice’s mother Edwina Kimutis purchased the Society membership for her birthday. The membership was written up during the show by Tami Buchwalter, wife of Society Board of Directors member Scott Buchwalter. Scott and Tami were volunteers at the show.
At the beginning of this year, I announced that I was going to learn how to use a blackberry. I’ve been getting lots of questions about my progress, and I have to admit that my resolution has fallen by the wayside. It is so much easier for me to call and ask my daughter Patty, my assistant Tricia, and Cathy at The Moss Portfolio and Bonnie, Corrado, and Jo at the P. Buckley Moss Museum and anyone else whom I think may know the answer—the incentive is just not there! (However, it’s still in the back of my mind.)
I’ve also been asked when some of my Italy-inspired pieces will be released, and I have good news. Two new etchings are available now. The Olive Tree (above), which retails at $250.00, was inspired by the olive tree in my garden in Cortona, Italy. Pinocchio (below), which retails at $350, was inspired by the classic story originally created in 1883 by Italian author Carlo Collodi. The name “Pinocchio” is derived from a Tuscan word meaning “pine nut.” (Pinocchio the puppet was carved from a pine log.)
I’m in the process of packing for this weekend’s Collectors’ Convention in Roanoke, Virginia. Tickets will be available at the door, so do come and join us at The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center for a weekend of fun and camaraderie.
Love,
Pat
I would like to share with you my letter that will be printed in the next issue of The Sentinel, which is the quarterly newsletter of the P. Buckley Moss Society. I know that many of you are members of the Society and will therefore receive the newsletter, but for those who aren’t members, I’m including it here.
“Dear Friends,
“I’m starting this letter with a thank-you and the greatest respect for Bob Almond, who retired earlier this summer as Executive Director of the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education. Bob’s foresight and ideas have placed the Foundation on a wonderful road to having an endowed Foundation. His abilities are so well-respected, as are his sense of humor and sense of fun. In this world, you have to be able to laugh at things. Bob was able to do both the serious part and the fun part. We will really miss him and hope that he will find the time to come back and do some things with us.
Bob & I.
“The ‘world of Moss’ is so fortunate to have all our volunteers and the staff members and boards of directors of the Society and the Foundation. The newer board members have wonderful, fresh ideas, and the older board members have so much experience. Everyone shares their ideas, knowledge, and experience. So often I will get credit for the work that we are all doing together, and I don’t hesitate to say that the credit is not mine; this is the Foundation and the Society, and we work together on everything. We are all working for a stronger world and doing all that we can for children.
“We bless teachers who care, so the Foundation sponsors a very special teachers’ conference every year that we all look forward to. Presenters and educators from all over the country come together to share and learn. The conferences inspire enthusiasm that carries over to the next year. This year’s conference will be the Foundation’s 11th annual national education conference and is titled “The Creative Mind: Building Foundations that Will Last Forever”. It will be held October 25-27, 2008, at the American Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton, Virginia. I will be attending a gallery show that weekend, but I’ll return in time for a luncheon with the conference attendees at the P. Buckley Moss Museum in Waynesboro, Virginia, on Monday, October 27. Several Society chapters have sponsored teachers from their areas to attend the Foundation’s conferences, and I think this is a wonderful idea. If you or someone you know would like to attend this year’s conference, please contact Dell Philpott at the Foundation office: 540-932-1728; foundation@mossfoundation.org.
“Thank you for all that you do for others!
“Love,
“Pat”
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©P. Buckley Moss 2005