P. Buckley Moss e-newsletter

Dear Friends:

My daughter Becky and I spent a most interesting afternoon last Friday at the Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech with members of LEAD Virginia’s Class of 2014 for their session on Expanding Innovation/Creativity through the Arts. LEAD Virginia educates participants about regional differences and statewide needs through the shared experience of seven intense monthly sessions held across the state. The program is endorsed by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and state universities. Many other states successfully organize similar programs, making this a proven model for developing a statewide network of informed and engaged corporate and civic leaders.

Among the participants in Friday’s LEAD Virginia session at Virginia Tech’s Center for the Arts were, L. to R.: Gary McCollum, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Cox Communications; Lisa Ridpath, Associate Vice President for Finance & Administration at Radford University; me; Margaret Taylor, Director of Programs & Alumni Relations for LEAD Virginia; and Susan Short, Associate Vice President for Engagement at Virginia Tech.

I was fascinated by my first experience with virtual reality. Bin and Run, pictured with me and Lois Badey (wearing the head gear), are two technology students at Virginia Tech who created a virtual reality DNA molecule model and the head gear that allows the user to see the model and move around in it in a life-sized virtual world. Bin and Run worked on this project in the lab of the Center for the Arts, where science, design, art, and engineering all come together. Lois Badey is the Senior Director of Development for the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech.

This is what I saw with the head gear on. I kept reaching out, thinking that I could touch it.

I couldn’t resist darting into one of the galleries in the Moss Arts Center to check out an architectural exhibit.

It is such an honor for me that the Moss Arts Center bears my name, and the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech is a reflection of my own philosophy of integrating the arts into the educational process. My new gallery in Blacksburg, which is located at 223 Gilbert Street in the newly opened North End Center, is just a five-minute walk from the Moss Arts Center. Come see us!

This past weekend saw another milestone in my life, with the first engagement among my grandchildren. A.J., a recent graduate of West Point, surprised Sarah with a ring, and we are all delighted and happy for them both. He will be fulfilling the first year of his military duties in Jordan and will be leaving soon. Sarah will follow in September and work there for a year. They haven’t set a wedding date yet, but we are all very excited.

The happy couple, A.J. & Sarah.

From the mountains to the salt marshes of the Chesapeake Bay—I love to walk no matter where I am. I came to Mathews for a few days the beginning of this week and went walking at 7:00 a.m. It was already starting to get hot.

I can hardly believe that July is just around the corner! The weekend of July 11-13 is our last show at the P. Buckley Moss Museum in Waynesboro, Virginia. Future shows will be held at our new gallery in downtown Waynesboro at 329 West Main Street and will coincide with my quarterly Barn Open Houses. We have a couple special events planned for our July show, starting with an unveiling of the show print at CrossKeys Vineyards on Thursday, July 10, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Prints will be available for purchase, and I will be there to meet collectors and sign the prints. For more information about the unveiling at CrossKeys Vineyards, please contact Nikoo Bakhtiar at 540-234-0505. The next special event will be a BBQ fundraiser at the Museum for the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education on Saturday, July 12, from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. This will be a great opportunity to visit the Museum before it officially closes on July 14. We will have live and silent auctions, music provided by guitarist and soloist Larry Ragland, and a BBQ dinner catered by Hank’s Smokehouse Southern Grillery. Tickets may be purchased from either the Moss Foundation (540-932-1728) or the gift shop at the Museum (540-949-6473). The morning of Friday, July 11, we will start taking bids at the Museum for the silent auction. The winners will be announced Saturday night during the fundraiser.

CrossKeys Vineyards depicts its namesake in Mt. Crawford, VA, and will be the special release print for our July 11-13 Museum Show and Barn Open House. For more information about the show, please contact the P. Buckley Moss Museum at 540-949-6473 or 1-800-343-8643.

Vineyard Haven will also be released as a giclée during our July 11-13 Museum Show and Barn Open House.

See you soon!

Love,
Pat

This is my granddaughter Sofia (Becky’s daughter) on the left with her friend Martina, drumming with the historic group of Cortona, Italy, during the Archidado at the beginning of June. The Archidado is Cortona's medieval festival.

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