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Dear Friends:
What a life! A couple weekends ago I was in a hot air balloon, and this past weekend I was on a fully restored, antique John Deere tractor. The tractor is considered an antique but is two years younger than I am, so I guess that makes me an antique, too—I like to consider myself a classic!
The weekend started with a reception Friday night at Reiman Gardens, which is located on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Pat Hill, owner of Country Gallery, and I officially launched my new print of Reiman Gardens titled Springtime at the Gardens. What a warm welcome we had! The whole Heart of Iowa Chapter of the P. Buckley Moss Society was there in addition to many people affiliated with Reiman Gardens and the University as well as collectors in general.
What support! Here I am with the Heart of Iowa Chapter.
Imagine my surprise and delight when Emily Dayton, left, introduced herself to me during the reception at Reiman Gardens. The little girl in my print Dutch Dreams is Emily. How wonderful to meet her and see what she looks like all grown up!
Reiman Gardens is gorgeous, and I so wanted to be able to walk around and explore and see all the new things; but, I got so caught up in exploring the gift shop and learning how to play the dulcimer that it was dark outside before I realized it.
Musician Reggie Greenlaw gave me a lesson on how to play the dulcimer. He played so beautifully during the reception.
I would like to give a special thanks to Teresa McLaughlin, Director of Reiman Gardens, and Gloria Erickson, Special Events Coordinator and Heart of Iowa Chapter member, for hosting the reception and inviting me. I was most honored.
It was so nice to be in Story City, Iowa, once again on Saturday for my show with Pat Hill and the Country Gallery. Pat has been representing my art in the Story City area for over twenty years, and I have so many happy memories from shows past. This one was just as special. After the show, Pat and I went to our favorite restaurant and I had the most divine seared scallops. It was a rare treat to have Pat all to myself for awhile.
After dinner, Pat drove me to the home (in Ames) of Joe and Debbie Frizzell, who are the brother and sister-in-law of John and Kay Frizzell. Kay is a staff member of White’s Gallery in Osceola. John and Kay met us there and drove me over to Osceola for my show with White’s the next day. Before we left, though, Debbie gave me a tour of her and Joe’s beautiful home, and I was so excited to find out that Debbie is a fantastic quilter. With a little twisting of her arm, I got her to agree to create a quilted wall hanging around one of my painted centerpieces for the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education to raffle or auction. Joe and Debbie have a horse farm, so I’m going to send Debbie a quilt square of a horse. Debbie and Kay volunteered their Aunt Pat Fynquist to quilt a wall hanging for the Foundation, too. We’ll be so honored to have one of Aunt Pat’s quilts, because she does hers all by hand and has never used a machine. I saw one of her quilts at Kay’s house, and it was exquisite.
What a wonderful team (more like one big family, really) gallery owners Dan and Kim White have! Together we released my new print Our Carnegie Library, which features Osceola’s very own Carnegie Library. Osceola’s library will soon celebrate its 100th birthday, and it is one of 1,689 libraries in the United States that was built with funding from Andrew Carnegie. Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American businessman who made his fortune in the steel industry and helped finance libraries between 1883 and 1929.
Jan DeDriselles, left, drove five hours from Minneapolis to have me sign this “print” she bought at an estate sale. When I took a good look at it, I realized that it wasn’t a print at all but an original watercolor. Boy! Was she ever excited!
After the show, the gallery staff, volunteers, and I all went to John and Kay’s house for a fabulous potluck dinner. We also visited Kay’s neighbors Harold and Mary Lou Fitzpatrick, who have a beautiful farm and wonderfully restored John Deere tractors. It was a picture-perfect opportunity!
I love this tractor! Standing directly behind the tractor by the rear tire are owners Harold and Mary Lou Fitzpatrick.
This weekend is my October Barn Show and Museum Open House in Waynesboro, Virginia. The show coincides with Waynesboro’s annual Fall Foliage Festival, and I hope to have a few minutes to go downtown and see all the crafts and sample some of the food. It’s an exciting time for the City of Waynesboro. I’ve created a special print to release this weekend at the Museum, which celebrates the fall atmosphere in the Shenandoah Valley.
Heading Home depicts what was formerly known as Chester Farms, located in Churchville, VA. The farms are now known as Cestari Farms, reflecting the owner’s Italian heritage—a fellow Italian! The print will be released during my Barn Show and Museum Open House in Waynesboro, VA, October 10-12. For more information, please contact the Museum at 1-800-343-8643 or 540-949-6473.
October is a busy, exciting month for me. The weekend of October 17-18, I’ll be in Russell, KY, for a show with my friends at Designer Art & Framing. We’ll release my new print Bennett’s Mill, which depicts the mill and a covered bridge. The mill no longer stands, but the bridge is still in use in Greenup County, Kentucky.
Bennett’s Mill will be released during my show with Designer Art & Framing in Russell, KY, October 17-18. For more information, please contact the gallery at 606-833-2962.
After my show with Designer Art & Framing, I’ll catch up with the Society’s RiverBarge trip on the Ohio River, called Fall Foliage and Fillies. I’ll be joining the group when the barge docks in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, the afternoon of October 19. When the trip ends and the barge docks in Cincinnati, Ohio, on October 23, I’ll be picked up by Laura DeRamus, owner of the Canada Goose Gallery in Waynesville, Ohio. I’ll be having a show with her that weekend, and we’ll release the print One Step Closer and the giclée on canvas Spring Comes to the Clifton Mill.
One Step Closer, above, and Spring Comes to the Clifton Mill, below, will be released during my show with Canada Goose Gallery in Waynesville, OH, October 23-25. For more information, please contact the gallery at 513-897-4348.
I’ll arrive back in Virginia just in time to have brunch at my Museum in Waynesboro with the attendees of the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education’s Annual Teachers’ Conference. Then, it’s off to Urbandale and West Des Moines, Iowa, for my show with Kenneth Paul Gallery. We’ll release my new print Blossoms of Love, depicting Des Moines Water Works’ Arie den Boer Arboretum, which is a memorial park.
Blossoms of Love will be released during my show with Kenneth Paul Gallery, Urbandale & W. Des Moines, IA, October 31-November 1. For more information, please contact the gallery at 515-278-4378.
So, now you know what my schedule is up to November. I have lots going on in November, too, and I’ll update you soon. People often ask me at shows, “How do you do this?” My answer is that I take good care of myself. I’m very careful about what I eat, and I try to walk every day. Exercise is very important. I’m usually able to nap on the airplanes, and I sleep most of the next day when I return home from a show. So, my answer is, “Don’t worry about me. I’m taking good care of myself.”
Love,
Pat
The Moss
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74 Poplar Grove Lane
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©P. Buckley Moss 2008