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Dear Friends:
The Finn Gallery’s first big event in its new location at 176 Fourth Ave., NE, in St. Petersburg, Florida, was a fundraiser for St. Mary Our Lady of Grace Church this past weekend. The event was catered by the best restaurants in town; and, the food was set up in my home, which is next door to the gallery.
Gallery owner Tim Finn welcomed the members of St. Mary Our Lady of Grace Church with open doors and beautiful fall decorations.
The church is blessed with a wonderful congregation. The members in charge of setting up and organizing everything took such good care of my home and the Finn Gallery’s new space. Everyone was so nice to one another and handled everything in such a professional manner.
What wonderful support! Sisters Jane Gradoz, Elizabeth Fuentes, and Trish Lopez came all the way from San Angelo, TX, to help their sister Trish Land of St. Petersburg (Yes! There are two “Trish’s.”) set up the event. Pictured L. to R. are Jane, Trish Land, me, and Elizabeth. Not pictured is Trish Lopez. I guess I made a third “Trish.”
Local merchants donated items for the auction, and over $20,000 was raised for the church’s building renovation fund! The church was built in 1929.
What a turn out!
My brand new giclée For Our Sins was a big hit at the show!
While I was in St. Petersburg, my daughter Patty, who is a member of the Board of Directors of the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education, was in Sweet Briar, Virginia, attending the Foundation’s Tenth Annual National Education Conference. Each year the Foundation sponsors a “Creative Mind” Conference for Educators. The theme for this year’s event was “The Way You See Your Life, Shapes Your Life.” The Creative Mind Conferences offer presenters and workshops to inspire teachers to incorporate the Arts in teaching children, especially those with learning differences.
Patty told me that she enjoyed all the presenters and workshops, but a particular favorite of hers was a joint presentation given by fellow Foundation Board member Dr. Robin Fromherz and her daughter Rebecca Fromherz, Soprano. Their workshop was titled “Opera Is for Everyone: Stories Told in Song” and explored the world of opera from a short history lesson to the beauty of sung stories to the benefit of opera in the classroom. It also explored how opera can be used to supplement the curriculum of the child with special needs as well as the regular classroom.
Rebecca Fromherz, Soprano, shared her gifts with the attendees of the Teachers’ Conference.
Rebecca is a professional opera singer who lives in Vienna, Austria. During the one and one-half hour workshop, she and her mother Robin taught the group to perform a twenty-minute opera that is suitable for school-age children. An extra special treat was Rebecca’s performance of four different opera songs.
Rebecca’s “students” learned how to perform an opera.
This Friday and Saturday I’ll be in Frederick, Maryland, for a show with my good friend Jon Thames of Thames Fine Arts and Framing. Jon and I will release my new print Frederick’s Twin Spires, which features the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The church’s history dates to 1738, and it served as a hospital for wounded Civil War soldiers during and after the Battle of Antietam in 1862.
Frederick’s Twin Spires will be released during my show with Thames Fine Arts & Framing in Frederick, MD, November 9-10, and there will be a limited number of remarques available at the show, too. For more information, please contact the gallery at 301-663-0707.
Frederick is famous for its clustered spires, among other things. The twin spires of the Evangelical Lutheran Church are part of that treasured landscape. American poet John Greenleaf Whittier memorialized the Town’s spires in his poem Barbara Fritchie, and I included them in my painting and print edition titled The Clustered Spires of Frederick.
Thanksgiving is just around the corner and then Christmas—can you believe it? As we share the holidays with our families and friends, let’s be sure to take the time to say a special prayer and give thanks for our troops who can’t be home to enjoy this special time with us.
Love,
Pat
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©P. Buckley Moss 2005