Send this e-mail letter to a friend:
Dear Friends:
It was another beautiful weekend! I spent it with my friends at the Canada Goose Gallery in Waynesville, Ohio, at their new location. It was exciting to see the new gallery. It’s so beautifully laid out and cared for, and my giclées looked gorgeous on the wall. It was great spending the weekend meeting new collectors and seeing older friends.
My visit to Leanne Foley’s art class at Waynesville High School was especially rewarding for me. I loved being with the high school kids. They asked lots of questions and got very involved and made it so much fun for me.
The students in Leanne Foley’s art class at Waynesville High School were a joy to be with!
Friday night after the show, the gallery staff, some collectors, and I went to dinner at the Hammel House Bed and Breakfast in Waynesville and then went on a walking ghost tour. I had no idea how much history is in that town! The Hammel House was on the tour, and Room 4 is haunted by a woman and a cat. The Hammel House was booked, so I didn’t get to stay in that room—maybe next time.
The house where gallery owners Laura DeRamus and Kathy Heims, Kathy’s sister Gloria, and I stayed was built in 1883. In the middle of the street in front of the house is a manhole that has a tunnel that leads to the Little Miami River and was part of the Underground Railroad. Lee Philpot, who owns the house, is so knowledgeable about the history of the town. She and her husband both told us great things. I would love to go on a tour with them, too. Lee is an antique dealer with a marvelous collection. The home is beautifully furnished and cared for. I didn’t go into her basement, which is probably a good thing! You know me and antiques! One thing I did admire was her collection of miniature Stetson Hat boxes with little hats inside.
I was very honored to be the first person to stay in this newly opened bed and breakfast, which is located in the attached portion to the right. It is known as Cranberry Cottage, and it was marvelous!
Coincidentally, another of the houses on the historic ghost tour was the Stetson House, where the aunt of the founder of the Stetson Hat Company lived. John B. Stetson became very ill and moved to his aunt’s home in Waynesville, recovered, and went west to start a business with money his aunt gave him. He made a hat to keep the cold off his head, and the hat was so admired by his friends and acquaintances that he started making them for everyone for $5.00 each. Those hats, commonly known as the “cowboy hat”, were the beginning of the line of hats fashioned at the Stetson Hat Company during 1865-1970.
After Saturday’s show we had about an hour’s rest and refreshed ourselves to go to a fundraising dinner for the Greene County, Ohio, CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate Association). The mission of the national organization, together with its state and local members, is to support and promote court-appointed volunteer advocacy for abused and neglected children so that they can thrive in safe, permanent homes. CASA was started in 1977. I just love the people who work with CASA. They are very special and give their time, energy, and love to children in need. CASA may be described the best through the poem that was included in the event’s program:
We Are CASA…
We SPEAK for a child
who wears shoes that are too large
whose nightmares are reality
who never heard of Mickey Mouse
whose parents ran away.
We are the VOICE for a child
who feels at fault
who lives in fear of daddy or mommy
who wonders what it’s like
to have a friend sleep over
who eats only when food can be found.
We STAND for a child
who has never been to the doctor
who wonders what the tooth fairy does
who is unable to stand without help
who knows too well what an attorney is.
We are the people who often read to these children
their very first fairy tale
who wipe away their tears with our sleeves
who want them to believe
Life is worth it…
Together we work to make a difference.
Both Laura and I got carried away in the bidding during the auction. Laura bought the quilted wall hanging that featured one of my baby bird linen squares for the centerpiece. It was beautifully quilted and pieced by Carolyn Archer and Lisa Grabiel. I put dibs on a fabulous Noah’s Ark that will be my Christmas gift to myself for my studio and home in Waynesboro, Virginia, known as The Barn. It is really a work of art, and I hope lots of you can come see it. Thank you, CASA, for letting us be part of your wonderful evening!
Laura DeRamus of Canada Goose Gallery and I had the best time bidding and laughing at CASA’s fundraising dinner.
Carolyn Archer (L) and Lisa Grabiel (R) quilted and pieced a work of art and love for CASA’s auction.
Pictures don’t do this work of art justice! It’s titled Genesis and was created in 1997 by artist Barry Grosscup based on an original design by Maurice Dallas. It was donated to the CASA fundraising event by the artist’s brother Bill Grosscup.
The CASA dinner was well organized and attended! The very fun group sitting at my table were, clockwise from me, Canada Goose Gallery owner Laura DeRamus, Moss collector Denise Presslar, Canada Goose Gallery owner Kathy Heims, and gallery assistant Gloria Brown. Not pictured were Laura’s husband Mike DeRamus; Margaret Drexel, Director of Communications for Warren County Convention & Visitors Bureau; and Peggy Vice.
Between shows I’ve been working on a large winter landscape that will fit well over a sofa or a fireplace. It doesn’t have a title yet, but I plan on having prints available before Christmas.
I hope this print will inspire peace and calm in every room it’s displayed in and in everyone’s life.
This weekend I’ll be in Omaha, Nebraska, with my friends at Ginger’s Hang-Up. We’ll debut a very special print that commemorates the biannual migration of the sandhill cranes. One of their favorite resting places is the Platte River in south-central Nebraska, with over 500,000 sandhill cranes and hundreds of thousands of ducks and geese converging on the Platte.
Ginger’s Hang-Up in Omaha, Nebraska, will release Nebraska’s Sandhill Cranes during our show together October 5-6. For more information, contact the gallery at 402-391-6440.
Looking forward to seeing you soon!
Love,
Pat
The Moss
Portfolio
74 Poplar Grove Lane
Mathews, VA 23109
(800) 430-1320
©P. Buckley Moss 2005