Dear Friends:
What roller coaster weather! I was in Miami Beach the end of last week
for the Art Basel, and the weather was warm and lovely. Then, a deep,
beautiful snow fell in the Shenandoah Valley on Saturday, while Mathews,
Virginia, received a very cold rain. I passed through Waynesboro on
my way to Kingsport, Tennessee, Monday for my show with Up Against the
Wall Gallery (Tuesday), and the roads were clear. On my way home from
Kingsport Tuesday night it poured waterfalls of rain with the temperature
just above freezing. My daughter Patty and I were so grateful that the
roads didn't ice up. Wednesday the temperature was in the 60's!
Mother Nature provided an additional Christmas decoration of snow
for my Museum
in Waynesboro, Virginia. Isn't it beautiful!
The Art Basel Miami Beach was most interesting, and I very much enjoyed
looking at all the wonderful artwork. I went with my son Chris Moss,
my business partner Jake Henderson, and consultants Jessica Darraby
and Danielle Amato-Milligan. Miami Beach is a very lively place, and
I have to share a funny story with you. Across from our hotel, which
was very nice, there was a building that I thought was a theater. I
think maybe it had been a theater once, but it turned out that the building
is now known as Club Madonna. I could see it from my window, and out
front on the street there was a huge, ornate chair. I watched as scantily
dressed women came out of the club and sat in the chair, beckoning to
people. After awhile I realized that these women were exotic dancers,
yet another art form! It really set in that I was most definitely not
in either Mathews or Waynesboro anymore!
Once we realized what was going on across the street, temptation
got the best of us and we went over to Club Madonna and took turns sitting
in the chair-just for fun. L. to R.: Me, Danielle Amato-Milligan, and
Jessica Darraby.
I fell in love with this tree sculpture at the Art Basel Miami Beach.
Jessica Darraby (middle) and Danielle Amato-Milligan (right) and
I touring the Art Basel. I really enjoyed the piece on the wall behind
me.
The silhouette in red is my business partner Jake Henderson, appreciating
the walk-in sculpture titled Tekrar Level Four by David M.
Abir. The sculpture is a combination of collaged classical music and
defused light and was designed to emulate the anatomical structure of
the human ear.
It was wonderful to be among old friends in Kingsport, Tennessee. Up
Against the Wall Gallery owners Mike and Lisa Anne Milhorn have been
representing my work for almost thirty years! Mike had arranged for
me to have a live TV interview with WCYB-TV in Bristol, Tennessee, at
noon on Tuesday. I'm still getting calls from friends who saw me on
TV. In the past I've interviewed with Johnny Woods, but Tarah Taylor
conducted the interview this time and did a wonderful job. I was delighted
to see my old friend Johnny, though, who came by the studio to say hi
to me. I talked about the work of the P.
Buckley Moss Foundation for Children's Education during the interview,
and I would like to take this opportunity to thank my friend Frances
Dunn of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for her most thoughtful and generous
recent donation to the Foundation. Frances just celebrated her 90th
birthday and on that special occasion donated $90 to the Foundation.
Thank you, Frances, on behalf of all the children who will benefit from
your kindness.
While we were in Bristol, Mike introduced me to Leah Ross, who is the
Executive Director of the Bristol
Rhythm & Roots Reunion. Each September, Bristol holds a three-day
festival and celebrates its musical heritage. I very much enjoyed meeting
Leah and discussing the possibility of my doing a poster for the festival
in 2011. What a fun challenge!
L. to R.: Mike Milhorn, owner of Up Against the Wall Gallery; me;
and Leah Ross, Executive Director of Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion.
My collectors are talented, gifted people. What beautiful voices!
These four ladies (I'm in the middle) formed a quartet and have been
performing together for years. They came to the show at the gallery
and shared their gift with me. They were really outstanding! The lady
beside me with the longer hair and bangs and I have bicycled together,
and I've met her mother; but, all this time I had no idea how wonderful
her voice is.
This weekend I'm back in Waynesboro for my Museum
Open House and Barn Show. It's my last show at the Museum this year,
and I'm looking forward to seeing all my friends so I can wish them
a merry Christmas.
Over the River, Through the Woods, and To Grandma's
House We Go will be released as giclées on paper during my
Museum Open House and Barn Show December 11-13. For more information,
please contact the Museum at 1-800-343-8643.
We're still working on the Christmas tree, but I think you'll enjoy
it. It's a very happy tree.
Love,
Pat