P. Buckley Moss e-newsletter

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Dear Friends:

My Barn Show and Museum Open House was such fun! Our parking lot was full of cars with license plates from all over the country: North, South, East Coast, West Coast, Florida, New England, and many points in between. It was so interesting to meet people I've never seen before who collect my art.

Before I started signing for collectors at The Barn Saturday morning, I went over to Fishersville to the Daylily and Wine Festival at the André Viette Farm and Nursery for a little while. I had no idea I knew so many people in the area! It was so friendly and warm being there, and I'm looking forward to next year. My favorite vendor sold homemade biscotti that was divine!

A few issues ago, I promised to share pictures of some of my Italy-inspired paintings. The two paintings below will be offered as giclées in the very near future.

This is Le Celle, St. Francis' 13th century monastery just outside Cortona.

This is a vineyard between Cortona and Montepulciano.

'Til next week...

Love,
Pat

I thought you may be interested in this letter I received from Doug Ball, who serves on the Board of Directors of the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children's Education. Doug was at our Collectors' Convention in Williamsburg, Virginia, last month and told me about his then up-coming vacation to Nicaragua. I asked him to please write and tell me all about it. I'm so proud of the caring among our Board members. This is what Doug was doing on his vacation!

July 15, 2010

Dear Pat,

Thank you for sending me the thoughtful letter-I haven't received or written an honest-to-God letter for quite a while-in this age of instant electronic communication it's nice to get a letter. So I thought I'd sit down & write one back to you.

Mainly I want to tell you how much I enjoyed Williamsburg-I have a feeling wherever you are there is also music, dancing, laughter, fun and art. I don't get enough of these so I'll remember the Jimmy Buffet party in my small collection of memorable social occasions amongst lively folks like you and the Moss revelers.

I also wanted to tell you how memorable my trip to Nicaragua was-I've only been home a few days and I'm longing to go back. It was like being in a beautiful and strange dream-which is why I loved it so much-it suited my disposition perfectly.

Nicaragua is the 2nd poorest country in the Americas, but I found it to be the richest I've ever visited. It is undeveloped, which means it is still unspoiled by resort over development (like the world of tourism in Costa Rica). It is a poor, poor country but it is also green. Managua is a green city. Lakes, active volcanoes, heavenly trees, brahmin cattle in the roads, tropical song birds, stray dogs, heroic statues honoring heroes and mothers and martyrs, banana and sugar cane plantations, mountains, rain, lava fields, blackbirds with long gold tail feathers, nests that hang like woven socks high in the palm trees. Beaches with brown shells, red shells and endless high waves. Everywhere memories of their revolution when the people overthrew a dictator, then the first thing the Sandinistas did was launch a war against illiteracy-I was fortunate enough to be able to see an exhibit devoted to that Literacy Crusade, which was unique in the history of education for illiterate people (who were intentionally kept uneducated). I could write volumes about the miracles of this inspirational campaign to teach people to read and raise their consciousness so they could participate in the "new day" after the revolution. Progress in Central America is hardly linear however. After the hope of a new dawn for the people of Nicaragua after the revolutionary struggle that cost too much in suffering & sacrifice-change has been slow & often more regressive than progressive. People earn $2.00 a day-2 million children do not have access to education. I visited a school in Managua that had no electricity, plumbing, or sufficient school supplies-Oddly enough the government spends more on higher education than on primary education. Students do not have to pay to go to college there. Bravo!

There is no sex education in the schools-so teenage pregnancy rates are very high as is the incidence of AIDS. We visited a grass roots program that uses the arts to educate people about health issues-we met members of a street theatre (young people) who create and perform clown plays for poor communities. Their plays use humor to entertain and bring attention to issues such as abstinence, domestic violence, and drug and alcohol abuse. The young performers themselves are victims of domestic violence. They need sound equipment for [their] shows-so I hope they will apply for a grant from the Moss Foundation.

The arts, crafts, music, and folk traditions are very lively there as you can imagine. People embrace art-I met a wealthy family who had to flee during the revolution but have unreserved love for the cherished art songs of the revolution that are still popular and performed. I also saw some beautiful paintings and sculpture (contemporary art) and found a book on art from 1948 to 1990-I think you'd like these paintings-mysterious, dark dreams, strange like Nicaragua.

Basta for now,
Doug

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