P. Buckley Moss e-newsletter

Dear Friends:

Our tour and lunch at Virginia Tech last Friday was very interesting. My daughter Patty and I met Cherie Durbin, Assistant Director of Development for the Arts, and Penny White, Director of Development for Student Affairs and Parent Support, at the Inn at Virginia Tech and drove over to the construction site of Tech’s new Center for the Arts. Even though it isn’t completed yet, I can tell that it is going to be out-of-this-world! One portion of it will be a theater for the performing arts, and we were able to climb a ladder to the balcony. Our tour was conducted by Project Manager Josh Lawrence and included an opportunity to see architectural drawings of the finished facility as well as diagrams and blueprints and a wonderful talk on the project.

Josh Lawrence, Project Manager for the construction of Tech’s new Center for the Arts, showed us around the construction site. Josh is from Waynesboro and knows my museum. I’m in the cool blue hardhat!

During lunch with Ed Spencer, Vice President for Student Affairs; Cherie; Penny; and Patty, we discussed plans for me to create a triptych image featuring the new Center for the Arts, the Memorial Walkway, and a recently completed new Information Center and Admissions Building. I’m also considering including some very nice gardens that are on the campus. A portion of the proceeds from the print edition will support the Center for the Arts and possibly a scholarship.

Dr. Ed Spencer, Vice President for Student Affairs, and me in front of the Inn at Virginia Tech.

After our visit at Virginia Tech, Patty and I drove over to Roanoke for my show with Graphics, Etc., and all my Moss in the Valley friends. The show was delightful, and gallery owner Mary Ann Warren does such excellent framing. She has a beautiful, sunny gallery and a wonderful selection of my work.

There was no shortage of good help or camaraderie at Graphics’ show! L. to R.: Mendy Flynn, Peggy Rogers, Brandon Flynn, Linda Markham (President of the Moss in the Valley Chapter), Mary Ann’s sister Susie Wire, me, gallery owner Mary Ann Warren, Mary Ann’s daughter Amy Perkins, Nancy Atkinson, and Dot Baldwin. All are members of the Moss in the Valley Chapter of the P. Buckley Moss Society, with the exception of Susie, Amy, and Brandon.

Earlier last week, I went with my friend Janice Hudgins of Mathews, Virginia, to her church’s Mother-Daughter Dinner. Janice is a member of Bethel United Methodist Church in the Onemo (pronounced “oh-NEE-mo”) area of Mathews. The dinner was a wonderful potluck, and we were entertained by local owner-performers from Donk’s Theater, home of Virginia’s Lil’ Ole Opry.

Virginia’s Lil’ Ole Opry is family-owned and operated, and it was such a treat for us to hear members of the families perform at Bethel’s Mother-Daughter Dinner. Standing in the background, L. to R.: Lynda Smith Greve, Lynda’s mother Carolyn Smith, Susan Ripley (daughter of Betsy Ripley), Amy Holloway (daughter of Joanna Nix), and Betsy Ripley. Seated at the piano is Joanna Nix. Betsy and Joanna are sisters. They all had beautiful voices!

Donk’s is located in the Hudgins area of Mathews and originally opened in 1947 as a movie theater. The theater closed in the fall of 1970 and remained closed for several years until it reopened as Virginia’s Lil’ Ole Opry thirty-six years ago. In addition to local artists, some very well-known Nashville headliners have also appeared at Donk’s over the years, including Dolly Parton, Kitty Wells, Ernest Tubb, Mickey Gilley, and Johnny Russell.

I flew down to St. Petersburg, Florida, early Monday morning to spend the rest of June painting in one of my favorite studios. As I’ve said before, I love the light that comes in through my studio windows. I’ve also started walking again to prepare for the Society’s trip to Italy in September.

I’ll return to Virginia just before my July 2 signing with MAG-The Gallery in Mathews, and the weekend of July 8-10 I’ll be in Waynesboro for our Summer Celebration. The Summer Celebration event will be held at the P. Buckley Moss Museum and will combine elements of a Museum Open House and Barn Show, Chapter Training for chapters of the P. Buckley Moss Society, a Collectors’ Convention, and a Moss Dealers’ Meeting all rolled into one fun-filled weekend extravaganza. The theme for the weekend will be Mardi Gras in July, and there will be a Mardi Gras Dinner Dance and Auction to benefit the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education on Saturday night. Grab your beads and your masks and join us! For more information, please call P. Buckley Moss Galleries, Ltd., at 1-800-430-1320.

Stay cool!

Love,
Pat

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