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Dear Friends:
Didn’t I tell you the Valley would be beautiful in the next couple of weeks? It is absolutely gorgeous right now! The color is wonderful! I’m currently in Waynesboro, Virginia, where I joined the attendees of the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education’s 11th Annual Creative Mind Conference on Monday for a brunch. The Conference was held Saturday and Sunday at the American Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton, Virginia, which graciously donated the use of their facility for our Teachers’ Conference. They have also donated their space for next year’s conference. What wonderful friends we have!
I’m sorry that I had to miss the first two days of the Conference, but I was very busy in Ohio, as you will read later in the newsletter. I did catch one of the presenters Monday, and I was very impressed. John Almarode, Staff Developer with Augusta County (Virginia) Schools, gave a presentation on Color the Brain: How the Arts Impact Student Learning. As a mathematics and science teacher, John creates an innovative and unique experience for each of his students, matching instruction with how the brain learns. As a staff developer, John allows audiences to experience brain-based learning, and his action-packed workshops create instant changes in the classroom and school community. I hope we will be able to have him for a speaker again!
I was delighted to see a couple teachers from Mathews, Virginia, which is where The Moss Portfolio is located, at Monday’s brunch. The brunch was held at my Museum in Waynesboro.
L. to R.: Christopher Scott (teacher), me, Tracy Slaughter (teacher), and Dr. Linda K. Wilson. The Moss Portfolio and the Moss on the Chesapeake Chapter of the P. Buckley Moss Society sponsored Christopher and Tracy, who teach in the Mathews County Public School System, to attend the Teachers’ Conference. Dr. Wilson is President of Moss on the Chesapeake, as well as the Mathews County Women’s Club, and serves on the Board of Directors for the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education. I was especially delighted to see Tracy again, who worked at The Moss Portfolio several years ago before she left us to pursue a teaching career. I’m very proud of Tracy’s career choice, even though we hated to lose a valuable staff member.
We were very fortunate to have students with the Winston-Salem Youth Arts Institute perform for us again. Since 2002, the Institute has used the power of writing and the arts to engage and train young people to create positive and meaningful solutions around issues impacting their lives. The teenagers receive tools to access and author their stories by working with professional arts mentors and learning how to express themselves through performance art, writing, film, dance, and song.
I would like to thank all our wonderful attendees and presenters for their participation in this year’s conference. It is such a joy to see so many people come together to make a positive difference in the lives of children.
As you know by now, last week I was on the Society’s RiverBarge Cruise on the Ohio River. It was loads of fun, and our group got to see so many interesting things along our route. I missed the first four days of the cruise due to my show with Designer Art & Framing in Russell, Kentucky, but I used my time on the barge the remaining three days to rest up for my show with Canada Goose Gallery in Waynesville, Ohio.
What a fun group of friends!
L. to R.: Marlene Ham, me, and Shirley Collins. Just look at this incredible mural in one of the towns our barge stopped in! It was one of about forty murals in the Town of Portsmouth, Ohio. The murals were painted on the flood walls along the riverbank by artist Robert Dafford and are called 2000 Feet of Art-2000 Years of History.
When the cruise ended, I was picked up by Don and Karen Morris. Karen works at the Canada Goose Gallery, and her husband Don, who retired from the U.S. Postal Service, was the inspiration for my print My Mail Man. Don and Karen drove me to the gallery to meet owners Laura DeRamus and Kathy Heims. From there, Laura, Kathy, and I went to the London Public Library in Madison County, which was featuring a display of my work, for a meet and greet event. The event was sponsored by the library, the Madison County Hospital Foundation, and Canada Goose Gallery. Later that evening, we attended a fundraising dinner for the Madison County Hospital Foundation’s Breast Cancer Initiative, which was held at the Madison County Senior Center. I was so happy to see my old friend Mona Flax again, who was involved with the PALS for Life breast cancer group that I did a number of fundraising prints for in the past. Mona is now with Madison County Hospital, and it is so nice to be working with her again.
L. to R.: Gary Branson, Director of London Public Library; me; and Mike Hensel, Communications and Marketing Director for London Public Library. It was an honor to be at the library!
This photo was taken at the renaming ceremony for the Madison County Hospital Foundation’s Breast Cancer Initiative. L. to R.: Fred Kolb, hospital CEO; Dr. Mitchell Spahn, Chief of Staff; me; Dr. A. J. Beisler, Medical Director of the Battelle Breast Care Center; Randy Crisp, Madison County Hospital Foundation President; and Dr. Robert Casillas, Vice President and Manager of Biomedical Science and Technology Product Line at Battelle. Dr. Spahn is a Boy Scout Leader. Can you imagine him walking into church in his Scout leader uniform on Sunday? What a good, giving person!
Here I am with my old friend Mona Flax, who now works in Development and Marketing for Madison County Hospital.
L. to R.: Janet Amlin, me, and Phyllis Alder. Janet and Phyllis pieced and quilted this wall hanging around one of my hand-painted centerpieces. The wall hanging was auctioned during the fundraising dinner for the Madison County Hospital Foundation’s Breast Cancer Initiative and brought in $1,300. These kind ladies have offered to make another quilt for the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education to use in a future fundraiser. We are blessed to have so many wonderful quilters who are willing to donate their time, talent, and materials for children and teachers.
Alma Detweiler, a Mennonite, came through the signing line three times! I told her she was trouble; but, of course, I loved it!
Canada Goose’s show was loads of fun, and it was wonderful to see so many old friends and quite a few new ones, too.
Boy! The Trees of Life Chapter of the P. Buckley Moss Society sure does get around. Last month they traveled from Defiance, OH, to Columbia City, IN, to see me, and here they were to see me again at Canada Goose’s show. I was delighted! Front row, L. to R.: Joanne Bonnett, me, and Dawn Brandi. Middle row, L. to R.: Colleen Jaski and Deb Weisgerber. Back row, L. to R.: Ginny Myers and Becki Clemens. The quilted wall hanging in the background is the one that was made by author and quilt designer Camelia Elliott that I first showed you around the time of my Collectors’ Convention in Roanoke, VA, last month. This quilt will travel with me to my shows, and raffle tickets will be sold. The drawing will be held in the spring. For more information, please contact the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education at 540-932-1728.
After the show at the gallery Saturday evening, we attended another fundraising dinner, this time for Abilities First, which provides services for children and adults with disabilities, developmental delays, and other special needs in southwestern Ohio. Abilities First was also celebrating its 50th Anniversary. Congratulations, Abilities First! The dedication and organization of this group is outstanding, and it is so rewarding to work with organizations that are doing such wonderful work and receiving so much support from the community.
L. to R.: Sheryl Pieratt, Event Coordinator; Laura DeRamus, co-owner of Canada Goose Gallery; Kathy Heims, co-owner of Canada Goose Gallery; me; and Elaine Garver, Director of Abilities First.
This beautiful girl is one of the little angels who receives services from Abilities First. Lianna Bryant has cerebral palsy. She is non-verbal and in a wheelchair. She receives physical, occupational, and speech therapy at Abilities First three days a week. Holding her is her grandmother Faye Leap. I understand that Lianna is a holy terror in her wheelchair, which she manipulates with her head (the only part of her body that she can move). Children will be children!
While I was showing in Ohio Saturday and attending the event for Abilities First, my Museum in Waynesboro, Virginia, was hosting a special Halloween program featuring Magician Brian Bence. Brian’s daughter Brianna served as his assistant, along with numerous participants from the audience. Many of the children who attended dressed in their Halloween costumes. What fun!
Magician Brian Bence and his daughter Brianna entertained young and old alike at the Museum Saturday.
I’ll set off early Friday morning to fly to Des Moines, Iowa, and my show with Kenneth Paul Gallery in Urbandale and West Des Moines. I’m very much looking forward to seeing all my Iowa friends again. Gallery owner Paul Poli and I will release my new print Blossoms of Love during the show.
Blossoms of Love, depicting Des Moines Water Works’ Arie den Boer Arboretum Memorial Park, will be released during my show with Kenneth Paul Gallery October 31-November 1. For more information contact the gallery at 515-278-4378.
Happy Halloween!
Love,
Pat
P.S. Please remember Election Day next week; Tuesday, November 4. Such good, strong people are running; so, no matter who you’re for, get out and vote!
The Moss
Portfolio
74 Poplar Grove Lane
Mathews, VA 23109
(800) 430-1320
©P. Buckley Moss 2008