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Dear Friends:
My week started with breakfast and coffee with a feathered friend, followed by the annual parade honoring the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., in the park across the road in front of my house.
This collared dove has been visiting me mornings outside my kitchen window and has turned out to be an excellent breakfast companion.The parade in the park is amazing, with participants coming as far away as Jamaica, Alabama, and New Orleans. It was a six-hour parade, but I had to cut it short to leave for my talk in Sarasota, Florida, later that evening. It is very heartwarming to see so many people embracing Dr. King's message. What a legacy!
I love St. Petersburg, Florida's, annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Parade. The drummers are wonderful!Monday afternoon Tim Finn, owner of the Finn Gallery in St. Petersburg, and I drove to Sarasota for my talk at Sunnyside Village. Sunnyside Village is a non-profit organization sponsored by Sarasota area Mennonite Churches to provide accommodations and services for active seniors, those in need of assisted living, and those requiring comprehensive nursing care alike. I was invited by their Arts and Academy Committee to be their guest speaker this month.
Tim and I had a delightful visit that included dinner in Sunnyside's dining room. The food was divine! I also had an excellent audience, who gathered in the community center to see a display of my work and listen to my talk. I spoke about my life and my art and my experience growing up as an undiagnosed dyslexic. I explained that I went all through school without being able to read, which caused a lot of problems. I can read now; but, where it takes some people days to read a book, it takes me months. Because of my schedule and commitments, a luxury for me is having the time to read every word in a book. I'm very grateful for the availability of books on tape, because I listen to them while I paint. I get so much enjoyment and entertainment from them, and they save my eyes. My ears can listen while I use my eyes for painting. I like to call it multitasking. A friend gave me the book Atonement, and I had gotten about halfway through it when my children gave it to me as a book on tape. I finished it by listening to it, but I really would have preferred reading it all the way through. It would have been more of an achievement that way.
I also told them about the work of the P. Buckley Moss Society and the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children's Education and our work on behalf of children, especially those who learn differently. I stressed the importance of having teachers who care and the need to educate teachers about methods of teaching children who learn differently. Several people told me later that they have children or grandchildren with learning differences and how much my talk helped them to better understand their needs.
It was a pleasure speaking at Sunnyside Village in Sarasota, Florida. L. to R.: Jim Wallace, Posie Wallace of the Arts and Academy Committee, me, Carol Henkel, and Steve Henkel.I'm pleased to announce the release of my new print The Cradle. There is quite a story behind this print, and I'm excited to share it with you. In 1988, I was in West Virginia for a gallery show, where I met Fred and Linda Haughey. Their story of adopting their son Andy through The Cradle Foundation in Evanston, Illinois, touched me so much that I created a painting that very evening in my hotel room. The next morning I invited Fred and Linda to look at the paintings in my portfolio, and they recognized their special painting right away. They purchased the original and have displayed it in their home for the past two decades.
The Haugheys feel so blessed to have Andy and are eternally grateful to The Cradle Foundation for making it possible for them to know the joy and love of raising a child that they wanted to do something special to mark The Cradle Foundation's 85th anniversary this year. So, last year Linda contacted my staff at The Moss Portfolio and loaned us her painting so that we could publish it as a limited edition print (1,000 prints). The Cradle retails at $75 each, with 10% of the sales donated to The Cradle Foundation—5% from authorized Moss dealers and 5% from The Moss Portfolio. The print is currently available via the Moss dealer network and The Moss Portfolio.
A portion of the proceeds from sales of The Cradle will benefit The Cradle Foundation, which is an adoption organization based in Evanston, Illinois. The Cradle Foundation is celebrating its 85th anniversary this year.I want to share a very nice letter I received from a student at Radford University in Radford, Virginia, who is the recipient of a scholarship endowed with funds from the sale of my Radford University prints.
“Dear P. Buckley Moss and Family,
“I am writing to thank you again for the scholarship. I had an amazing fall semester in terms of dance. I was in three performances. I was in Fall Dance Fest and in December I was in 'An Evening of Ballet.' I had the opportunity to work with Cindy Thomasson on her Capstone Project (where she conceived, choreographed and mounted and performed a show of eleven original dances). I not only danced in the show (including a solo) but I was her rehearsal assistant. I [videoed] several rehearsals and I helped with set and costume construction. ...and I am looking forward to an even better spring semester.
“Academically, I not only did well, I loved my Survey of World Religions class, so much so that I am considering a minor in Religious Studies. My professor, Dr. Russell Gregory invited me to learn about different religions and he encouraged me to ask religious questions about my life.
“I really love studying and learning at Radford, it has such a great atmosphere and I am eager to learn all that I can. Thank you so much for your support.
“Sincerely,
Johannah Mosley”I want to thank my collectors and members of the Society for helping me help others through my art.
Love,
Pat
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