Alphabet

2008 · 63564 — 2008. Hand-written correspondence from Bob Moss to Patrick Eddington aka “Pat the Cat†who was a Utah artist and former high school art teacher who spent over two decades corresponding with numerous artists and authors. Each piece of correspondence is signed by Bob Moss at the foot.<br /> <br /> The archive includes:<br /> <br /> 1 handmade Christmas card.<br /> <br /> 1 postcard which is an advertisement for his exhibit at the Beehive Tea Room.<br /> <br /> 1 card to Patrick Eddington in which Bob describes a cd he will be working on consisting of local history-oriented songs. He writes "Nobody seems to want to help. No local hipster seems to want to do UTAH history songs. Ive sic written a very good one about J. Bracken Lee and an OK one on the Johnson sic Army Utah war."<br /> <br /> 1 four-page letter.<br /> <br /> 1 three-page letter.<br /> <br /> Page 2 of a two-page letter.<br /> <br /> 17 slides depicting various projects by the artist including stoneware collage and ink on wood. Annotations by Bob Moss in the borders.<br /> <br /> 7 color photographs 4 x 6" showcasing Bob Moss's unique creations. Three of the photographs show the artist displaying his work. Folk artist/musician Bob Moss 1953-2011 was born in Logan Utah. He is most known for his wood-burned pieces that often featured the Deseret Alphabet Brigham Young's unique phonetic Mormon language. Bob Moss did his first work in the Deseret Alphabet in 1989 for Joe Stetich's "Hatu Teresed." On his website Bob points out that he has always emphasized his musical side. He has 5 cds out under his own name another one produced as a group and a sixth cd titled "Bob Moss Plays Frank Sinatra on his Five-String Banjo." <br /> <br /> The letters full of personality and humor consist entirely of Bob's unique musings and his honest views of life as well as his art. When one reads these letters one gets a small glimpse of the way in which Bob lived his life. According to his sister Linda Hill "Bob showed you what he chose to show. He lived on the fringe of polite society and he was fiercely independent and true to himself." The Salt Lake Tribune<br /> <br /> In a letter to Patrick he writes "I work pretty hard. Frankly Im sic totaly sic exhausted a lot. Still when I get home I make myself work on art. I'm trying to finish the color backboard to a woodburnt cut out beehive. But mostly Ive sic just been doing words. I figure some people might dig the Deseret Alphabet and would rather have lots of that. But its also somrthing I can manage to do when I'm Dog Tired."<br /> <br /> In another letter he muses "My stuff is kind of goofy maybe. Ive sic met almost no one who shares any of my interest. Anyone elses sic interests are as valid as mine. But I have my path & I intend to keep on following it."<br /> <br /> Moss's obituary published in "The Deseret News' closed with this poignant wish: "Instead of flowers remember that the art of happiness is to serve all and lend a helping hand to someone in need or send a hand-written letter to someone you love."<br /> <br /> His artwork rests in the hands of his family friends and fans. unknown