P. Buckley Moss e-newsletter

Dear Friends:

The grand opening of our first P. Buckley Moss Invitational Art Show was a huge success. We had over 130 people, including students, parents, teachers, superintendents, principals, and art directors for the different counties. Excitement was in the air last Thursday night at the P. Buckley Moss Museum in Waynesboro, Virginia, as the winners of the various categories were announced. (In my eyes, they were all winners.)

Just a few of the 130+ attendees at our first P. Buckley Moss Invitational Art Show.

The categories and judges were Textiles: Rachel W. N. Brown, owner of Rachel’s Quilt Patch in Staunton, Virginia (Rachel also judged the category of Sculpture, substituting for Jon Thames of McGuire Fine Arts in Frederick, Maryland, who had to bow out at the last minute); Painting & Print-Making: Piper Grove, Shenandoah Valley Arts Center; Photography: Lynn Conyers, a photographer and former teacher; Drawing: Ken Schuler, a local artist; and Mixed Media: Janet Doerr, a local artist. I chose the Grand Prize Winner, as well as three Honorable Mentions.

L. to. R.: Dr. Steve Leaman, Principal of Broadway High School in Rockingham County; Linda Wachter, mother of Broadway High Junior Evan Wachter; and me.

In the category of Textiles, the winners were 1^st-Megan Leo of Western Albemarle High School, 2^nd-Susan Spencer of Robert E. Lee High School, and 3^rd-Chrissy Houff of Western Albemarle High School. For Sculpture, the winners were 1^st-Ashton Dean of Eastern Rockingham High School, 2^nd-Annaliese Hoy of Shenandoah Valley Governor’s School (SVGS), and 3^rd-Susan Spencer of Robert E. Lee High School. For Painting and Print-Making, the winners were 1^st-Dalton T. Byerly of SVGS, 2^nd-Mack H. K. Simonds of Western Albemarle High School, and 3^rd-Jasper Farish of Charlottesville High School. For Photography, the winners were 1^st-Gloria Coonley of SVGS, 2^nd-Madeline Hostetler of Eastern Mennonite High School, and 3^rd-Tobi Holland of Riverheads High School. For Drawing, the winners were 1^st-Rachel Daley of SVGS, 2^nd-Elizabeth Senger of SVGS, and 3^rd-Karrington Greenlee of Robert E. Lee High School. For Mixed Media, the winners were 1^st-Ida Blanchette of Broadway High School, 2^nd-Chelsea Dudley of Bath County High School, and 3^rd-Samantha McLawhorn of SVGS.

Congratulating some of the students on their beautiful artwork.

Erica Eddins of SVGS (right) and her mother, standing beside Erica’s clay and stained glass sculpture (far left) that was inspired by nature.

The Grand Prize Winner was Jasper Farish of Charlottesville High School for his drawing titled Evolution. “This piece, titled Evolution, describes various aspects of the course of human progression through the symbolism of the hand, that signature biological innovation that sets us apart from the rest of nature. Rising from the writhing mass of chaos upon the tools of culture and warfare, we reach the ability of introspection and from there we branch out furthering the pursuits of civilization, eventually to be consumed by the advancement of our violence, our technology and our self-indulgence, to bear no fruit but our own demise.”—Jasper Farish

Grand Prize Winner Jasper Farish and me with his drawing Evolution. Jasper attends Charlottesville High School and has been accepted at three different art schools.

I also selected Second, Third, and Fourth Prize Winners overall. I chose Heather Offenbacker of East Rockingham High School for second place for her teapot titled Tea Faced. Cody Moomau of Robert E. Lee High School was chosen for third place for his pencil drawing. Alycia East of SVGS was chosen for fourth place for her sculpture.

The weekend’s Museum Open House and Barn Show was great fun, and I was delighted to see many of my old friends as well as lots of smiling, new faces.

Debbie and Claude Dauberman and me, posing with their newly acquired original watercolor. I think this makes No. 14 for them! Claude & Debbie are from Pennsylvania.

L. to R.: Lillian and Buckley Piett and me. Buckley’s father chose her name while viewing one of my baby bird paintings. I understand that Buckley considers herself to be one of my biggest fans, and I was delighted to meet them both.

I received a special, early birthday present during the Barn Show—a most wonderful hand-stitched quilt! The quilt incorporates one of my hand-painted centerpieces, and the accompanying fabrics were selected by Barn Show Volunteer Pat Jones, who also stitched the whole thing by hand. I am thrilled with it! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Pat Jones and me with the gorgeous quilt she made for me.

This Saturday my daughter Patty and I will attend the Society’s Moss on the James Chapter’s annual fundraising tea in Richmond, Virginia. This year, the Chapter is raising money for the Massey Cancer Center at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Afterward, I’ll be flying back to St. Petersburg, Florida, for a couple months of painting in my Florida studio.

Before closing, I want to share with you a fun story. A few weeks ago, my staff was contacted by Col. Paul Greenhouse of the United States Army, who made a special request for a retiring colleague. Col. Greenhouse explained that Col. Tom Bailey would be retiring after 26 years of service to our country, having served in the U.S. Air Force and having also taught at the Air Force Academy. Col. Greenhouse and other colleagues were planning to give Col. Bailey a framed Commitment to Excellence print and asked me if I would write a little personal note to be included on the back of the framed print. Of course, I was very honored to be asked to do this. Our service men and women put their lives on the line for us each and every day, and I was happy to be able to give one of them a smile.

Col. Tom Bailey, left, and Col. Paul Greenhouse, right, on the occasion of Col. Bailey’s retirement after 26 years of service with the U.S. Air Force and the Air Force Academy.

’Til next week…

Pat

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