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Please join us for the

Friends' 6th annual fundraiser.

The Friends' Fish Fry is a chance to enjoy friends, good food and music,

of the benches and items in this catalog to help support Friends' efforts to protect the North Fork of the Shenandoah River.

October 9th, 2010

2:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m.

National Guard Armory

451 Hoover Road, Woodstock, VA

DirectionsNational Guard Armoryat 451 Hoover Road, Woodstock

From Interstate 81:Exit at Woodstock - Exit #283Turn west on to Rt. 42 (Reservoir Road)

Turn south (left) at Henry Ford Drive (this is the stoplight for entering the Walmart

parking lot)Pass straight through stop sign on Henry Ford drive (with Tractor Supply to your

right and Walmart to the left)Continue on Henry Ford Drive past

Lowes and Muhlenberg Ford Mercury dealership to stop sign at Hoover Road.National Guard Armory is directly across Hoover Road from the junction of Henry Ford Drive and Hoover Road.

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AND a wonderful Art Auction

Hexes and FlowersBy: Wolfgang Neudorfer

This is a 36 inch trestle bench on the seat of which I painted three hexes. The center one has a styl-ized river flowing through it diagonally. The fields on either side of the river are filled with stars, as in Shenandoah, daughter of the stars. The circumferential decoration is red white and blue as in the flag. One of the other hexes is a Distelfink, literally a thistle finch. Finches eat thistle seeds. This hex symbolizes good fortune. The other hex with radiating design symbolizes fertility and prosperity in husbandry and agriculture. I have filled in corner spaces with stylized tulips, blackeyed susans and gentians. The discerning viewer will discover two insects on the flora of the vertical supports. The connecting brace has the legend “North Fork” on one side and a fish and a bird on the other. I used acrylics and the bench is finished in polyurethane.

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Massanutten Mountain Summer SolsticeBy: Laurel Vaughan

Beginning January 1, 2010, Lau-rel launched a project to paint the same view of Massanutten Mountain every day from a win-dow in her home as a way of documenting the ever-changing nature of the mountain over the course of a year. The drawings are posted daily on her website www.DailyArtOnline.com.

The bench depicts the mountain on June 21, 2010. The day was chosen because it was the date of the summer solstice marking the fi rst day of summer. June is also National Rivers Month.The painting was done in acrylic over a reclaimed plastic bag, as a reminder to recycle plastic bags, many of which no doubt end up in the Shenandoah River.

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Friends On the North ForkBy: Ellen Halsey

My medium of choice is watercolor.

However, I used acrylic on the

bench. I love the natural beauty of

the river, especially the wildlife.

Our home overlooks the river, and

we often watch the geese and blue

herons behind our house. Therefore, I

chose to include those two in the bench painting.

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FishBy: Donna Bean

I like fish, I like to paint fish, and I like clean rivers. Isn't that what this is all about? I am proud to be part of the effort, Donna Bean.

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A Quiet Time on the RiverBy: Cary Sober

Cary says that she is charmed by Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah Valley, and loves being sur-rounded by the wonderful old mountains, but inspiration for her paintings continues to come from her need to create the as yet un-seen. Her artistic energy remains devoted to non-representational im-agery, and the ever-exciting exploration of color. "My finished work is successful for me if I have achieved harmony and balance and have created a sense of mystery that has compelled the viewer to take a closer look," says Cary.

Cary is a member of the Valley Educational Center for the Creative Arts (VECCA), Edinburg, VA; 7 East Gallery, Woodstock, VA, www.veccaarts.org; King Street Art Works, Strasburg, VA,

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Coy KoiBy: Bobbi Walker

Among the many treasures in and along our Shenandoah River my most memorable discovery was Koi. When ask to participate in creating a piece for ‘Friends of the North Fork’, I knew immediately what my subject matter would be.

While canoeing one day my husband and I were watching a school of carp, suddenly we caught a glimpse of gold – Koi in the Shenandoah River??!. Upon inquiry we discovered a gentleman had stocked his pond with Koi which during a flood were washed into the river only to survive with a school of carp. Thankfully these beautiful fish have survived the hardships of nature and the hor-rendous decline of in our fish population. Therefore it is my pleasure to lend support for the continued effort of “Friends’ to protect this gift of nature.

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Princess and the PeaBy: Beth Carmain

My bench is an attempt to capture the image of one of my favorite fairy tale prin-cesses. With all due respect to the small crowd of Disneyfied princess, which my family enjoys very much on our annual trip to the Happiest Place on Earth, this particular princess is of the quieter and more subtle variety. Thise story begins, as so many do, on a dark and stormy night. A cold and shivering young woman ar-rives at the castle of a prince who had been actively seeking a true princess to marry. Frustrated with his foiled attempts to establish the pedigree of former pro-spectives, he decides to test this woman’s claims that she is of royal blood. The woman is made to sleep on twenty mattresses and twenty featherbeds piled on top of a single pea. When she wakes up in the morning and reports having slept terri-bly all night due to the distinct sensation of a rock in her bed, the prince knows he has found his princess. Tthe pair go on to marry and live happily ever after. It’s difficult for me to articulate exactly why this story resonates with me beyond my love for naps and my notorious difficulty taking them. My family likes to call me the princess and the pea, so it is partially autobiographical. I think the fairy tale, and the way I’ve envisioned our fated princess tells a larger story. This is a story about magic and the unexpected. Also, the story captures the hidden pain within that magic. The woman’s suffering is the very thing that guarantees her salvation. The prince would marry no robust, healthy lass. The tale teaches us that true princesses have very thin skin indeed. Thus, to be a true princess (as all the ladies of the Cinderellabration most certainly are) is to suffer. Conse-quently, it makes sense that some of Hans Christian Andersen’s critics believe the author intended this story to be a critique of aristocracy. While all of Andersen’s fairy tales have some dark element the princess and the pea puts that element in the very body of the princess herself. These in-tertwined themes of magical romance and suffering tell us what it is to be beautiful, special, and loved.

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BenchBy: Sally & Tori Veach

My medium of choice has always been oils, and my work has been representational. Currently I am creating paintings based on natu-ral subjects, and some portraiture. However, I am increasingly in-spired by abstract works, but time will tell if my work will take that turn. I look forward to re-developing my craft, and one day offering my work to galleries, collectors, and juried shows.

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River ReedsBy: Kary D. Haun

When I was approached with the assignment of a decorative wooden bench inspired by the Shenandoah River, I could not get the picture of river reeds out of my head. The thought of these strong vertical lines- blades of grass- emerging from the gently flowing lines of water moving through them, kept coming back to me. The contrast between these two simple design elements was my inspiration for the imagery in my bench called River Reeds.

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Embrace Your Inner FishBy: Susie Morgan Wilburn

Evolution fascinates me. I recently read Neil Shubin's book Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body and that was the inspiration for the bench. In 2004 Neil Shubin and his team of scientists discovered the tiktaalik in Canada and this fish filled in a blank in the timeline as to when fish began to walk on land. This is the fish that we are related to. It has an elbow and before that no other creature had evolved a limb that would allow it to walk. To wrap your head around the fact that you could be related to a creature like this is just really fascinating. I am a firm believer in science and think that almost everything will eventually be proven through science if we just keep filling in the blanks. The bench is a combination materials--stoneware tiles, bamboo sticks, paper and wood. Stoneware tiles represent the fossils that Dr. Shubin and his team discovered in 2004. They are embedded in the bench because he found them embedded in the earth on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canada. I also thought that using a frog would be a fun addi-tion given that frogs also have the elbows much like the Tiktaalik and we are familiar with frogs having elbows. One of the legs is printed with a timeline that shows the time periods that these crea-tures have gone through to get to us. 375 million years is a long time. Between the bench legs an aquarium of sorts shows stoneware fish from our river (someday they may be fossils too) suspended with illustrations showing the similarities we have with fish embryos and the genes that we share. Some of the research is written on the seat area to give the background a texture and to also credit Dr. Shubin and his team for their great discovery. So, everyone, Embrace Your Inner Fish!

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RecycleBy: Paula Dailey and Terry Fogle

Paula and Terry Fogle of Fort Valley Nursery combined

creative talents to create a sculpture using recycled materials

from New Orleans Katrina debris and old oil drums turned

into fish floating above a bench planted with assorted ferns

and ivy to refresh your air. A perfect foyer piece and a place

to hang your hats.

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Shenandoah FallBy: Diane Gould and Steve So-ber

Steve Sober is a very talented

photographer who captures the

everyday beauty that surrounds us

here in the Shenandoah Valley. I

wanted to incorporate one of his

photos into my FNFSR bench pro-

ject and Steve gave me permission

to use any of his award winning

prints. I chose this beautiful picture

of our mountains viewed through the trees on a brilliant Fall day and think it’s a perfect example of what we are lucky enough to live

with daily. I just extended the colors already there with a little texture and sealed the whole bench so that it can be enjoyed inside or

on a covered porch. Enjoy.

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By: Sansara Murphy

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Tributary FlowBy: Linda Anderson

I am blessed with the flow of the waters of Cedar Creek, a tributary of the Shenandoah that runs only paces from the front door of my studio. This was the inspiration for the view of the river waters that I painted on my bench, "Tributary Flow", completed for the fundraising auction for The Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River. I love living in this beau-tiful valley, surrounded by the flow and the music of the Shenandoah and her tributaries.

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Certificate for a half hour plane ride for two people out of Warrneton or

Woodstock Airport

Enjoy a flight over the Shenandoah Valley or Skyline Drive. View the Seven Bends of the North Fork and take an aerial view picture of your home, cabin or lodge..

Donated by Bob Niesslein of Wood-stock Used Cars, LLC, 709 N. Main Street, Woodstock, 540-459-1775

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Certificate for a half-day fishing float trip for two people in the 2011 Fishing Season

Enjoy fishing 4 to 8 miles on the North Fork of the Shenandoah River with professional fishing guide and Shenandoah Riverkeeper Jeff Kelbe.

Certificate Expires November 2011.

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CERTIFICATE FOR BALLOON RIDE FOR 2

Donated by Valley Ballooning603 Cobb Ct. Woodstock, VA 22664

(540)975-0192)SEE THE BEAUTIFUL SHENANDOAH VALLEY FROM ABOVE IN A PEACEFUL DRIFT ACROSS AROUND THE AREA. A GOOD CHANCE TO TAKE ARIAL VIEW PHOTOS OF THE PLACES YOU LOVE.Valley Ballooning is located in Woodstock, VA and offers flights from the heart of the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. Flying over the Shenandoah is truly re-warding and offers spectacular views. Some things you may see on your flight include:

The Blue Ridge MountainsThe Appalachian MountainsThe Seven Bends of the Shenandoah RiverThe majestic eastern white tailed deerMany wine vineyards and much more

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Certificate for Guided Fly Fishing Trip for two on the North or South Fork of the Shenandoah RiverDonated by Harry Murray of Murray’s Fly Shop

121 So. Main Street, Edinburg, VA 540-984-4212

Guide, John Coleman, will help you explore exciting Small-mouth Bass fishing on either the North or South Fork of the Shenandoah River. This is an all day float trip and includes lunch.Murray’s use an Otter raft with fishing frame, Hyde drift boats, kick boats and canoes depending on location of the float and your individual desires.

Certificate good April – September 2011Please make reservation well in advance and mention this Certificate and Friends of the North Fork when you call.

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2007 Hyde LH Signature Series Low Profile Driftboat

Embrace Your Inner Fish Pillows

By: Susie Wilburn

ARTIST’S STATEMENT: The pillows are an extension of the bench titled “Embrace Your Inner Fish.” As humans we need to be comfortable and so the pil-lows allow us to sit in comfort. That said, the pillows were cre-ated from the linoleum blocks that were cut to create the tiles in the bench, but now they were used to print the fabric that was then sewn into the pillows. I used an acrylic paint and printed the fabric and then combined that fabric with some of my scrap quilt fabrics. Decorative beads were added for ornamentation.

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