2015

Tim Snyder's 360 Degree View

in

Front Porch Magazine
June 2015 (pg. 3)

Each of us develops our uniquely perceptive eye attuned to our own experiences of the world around us.  You may have recognized your own in a glimpse of light chasing dust through a dim window, or in a moment of brilliance along a green highway in the springtime.  For some, it’s movement – the fast-flung arms of a dancer or the snaking flow of a river.  For photographer Tim Snyder, it’s the electric spiral of the stars, the pop of red peppers on a cutting board, and the grind and flight of a skateboard in midday light.  For nearly ten years, Snyder has been framing and capturing shots that reveal a unique appreciation for the unassuming activities that make life extraordinary.

Photos by Tim Snyder

In Communion with Change

in

Front Porch Magazine
June 2015 (pg. 11)

Change.  It’s a word that strikes fear into many hearts, especially when life is strolling comfortably along minding its own business.  However, situations sometimes call for a shake-up, as Fredericksburg’s newest face about town, Reverend Doug McCusker, knows all too well.  After a long career as an IT expert for the Department of Defense, McCusker took a leap of faith into a new job as a minister, landing at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fredericksburg in Chatham.

Photo provided by Rev. Doug McCusker

Ramp up Your Routine on the Rappahannock River

in

Front Porch Magazine
May 2015 (pg. 29)

Stretch, sweat, run, sweat, lift, sweat, crunch, sweat, curl, sweat.  Repeat.  Sound familiar?  Many people find themselves looking for ways to infuse variety into their fitness routines after a long winter of indoor gym workouts, and luckily for those of us living in and near Fredericksburg that variety is right outside our doors.  With their “Gear Up Get Active” motto, Keith and April Petersen of River Rock Outfitters fully promote the ease and accessibility of outdoor fitness options in Fredericksburg while highlighting appreciation and conservation of the area’s natural resources.  

Photo by White Water Photos 

Mammoth Jockeys: A Creative Collaboration

in

Front Porch Magazine
May 2015  (pg. 19)

A traditional view of the student-teacher relationship is one in which teacher leads and student learns; however, modern theory promotes a more complementary role between the two, where teacher becomes a facilitator, and student takes ownership of knowledge.  In the best of these relationships, the two also become collaborators.  Such is the case with author and high school English teacher James Noll and his former student Grant Ervin.  Their collaborative efforts will culminate over the next year with the release of Ervin’s video game, Mammoth Jockeys.

Mammoth Jockeys Composite provided by Grant Ervin


Tom Conway: It Starts with a Slam

in

The Write Stuff - Virginia
May 2015

One of the major challenges for teachers of writing has always been finding ways to stimulate student buy-in during the writing process.  The days of spending time on work to please the teacher are gone for most, if they were ever really here in the first place, and students crave more authentic opportunities to share their creativity and opinions with a wider audience.  Often, however, these opportunities are daunting for teachers to implement and maintain, especially in the current environment of rampant national and state testing.  How does one carve out the necessary time to allow writing and the creative process to flourish while adhering to curriculum and content in the subject area classroom?

My guest this week has found an answer that works for his students at his school. Tom Conway, NVWP alumnus and 7th grade English teacher at Thornburg Middle School inSpotsylvania, VA, has been promoting authentic writing through poetry slams since he first started teaching ten years ago.  After graduating from the NVWP Summer Institute in 2014, he was encouraged by mentor writing teacher, Stephenie Fellinger, to jump start an idea that had been scuttling around in his brain for a bit – a student writing center at Thornburg Middle School.

Photo provided by Tom Conway - Tom and his students celebrate their upcoming poetry slam.

Art of Poetry: Water Street Writing and Art Studio Celebrate National Poetry Month

in

Front Porch Magazine
April 2015 (pg. 3)

In celebration of National Poetry Month, local artists and poets have teamed up at Water Street Studio on Sophia Street to illustrate the ways art and writing influence one another. Come out and view their inventive collaboration and join the festivities on First Friday, April 3, 2015.  Runs through April 2015

Janelle Martin: Freeing the Writer Within

in

The Write Stuff - Virginia
April 2015

As teachers under pressure from mandates and curriculum requirements, we sometimes see the developmental stages of our students become overshadowed by looming deadlines and requirements.  However, developing minds is our business, and Jennelle Martin, an 8th grade English teacher at Caroline Middle School, makes it her priority to draw out the writer in each of her students.  With an emphasis on creativity and innovation, the keys to success in her classroom are handed to those who are willing to free their minds to make room for the voice to be heard.

Photo provided by Janelle Martin

 

Ellen Smith Alden: Writing the Human Record

in

The Write Stuff - Virginia
March 2015

We’re back!  I know it’s been a while, but I am excited to share this latest interview with you.  Prior to the winter break, I was able to sit down in December with veteran educator and my good friend, Ellen Smith Alden.  And while I’m hoping she will forgive the long overdue posting of our interview, I know you will enjoy her wit, passion and expertise about the writing practice in her classroom.  Ellen currently teaches 7th grade history and English here in Virginia, and she is a certified NVWP consultant.  We met many years ago while working at a middle school in Stafford County, and I have always admired Ellen’s tenacity, sharp intellect, and evident concern for the kids in her classroom, both as students and as future adults.  She has the utmost respect for them, as is evident in the ways she teaches and in her consistent commitment to bringing them meaningful curriculum that will serve them their entire lives.

Photo by Ellen Smith Alden - Ellen and her students celebrate a great year of writing.

Body Language

in

Front Porch Magazine
February 2015 (pg. 28)

One of Fredericksburg’s most endearing characteristics is that it is a city that embraces positivity, innovation, and ingenuity.  Whether through the arts, through education, through business, or through medicine, Fredericksburg attracts people who foster community engagement, health, and wholeness.   One such group is located off Lafayette Boulevard at Alison Sullivan & Associates.  The brainchild of therapist Alison Sullivan, a licensed clinical social worker with fifteen years experience in the field, is comprised of a team of professionals including Sullivan, certified massage therapist Janet Bradshaw, certified nutritional specialist Beth Austin, and certified yoga instructor Holly Ryan.  

Photo by A.E. Bayne - Beth Austin, Alison Sullivan, Janet Bradshaw


Natalie and Ray Davis: Love, True Love

in

Front Porch Magazine
February 2015 (pg. 8)

When we hear the word love, a plethora of clichés comes to mind.  It’s many-splendored, everlasting, and eternal.  Love ignites, consumes, inspires, heals, and breaks.   It lifts us up and sometimes aches.  At times, it even bites; but through all its many personifications, love – the kind you find in partnerships, in friendships, in marriages, and in familial relationships – relies on a basic foundation to endure and thrive.  Natalie and Ray Davis’ 51 years as a couple exemplifies this foundation.  They’ve been traveling the road of love together for longer than many have been alive, learning that in its simplest form love has few rules, but many opportunities for growth and wisdom. 

Photo by A.E. Bayne - Natalie and Ray Davis at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fredericksburg

Made in Fredericksburg: WM Mason II Violin Shop

in

Front Porch Magazine
January 2015 (pg. 28)

Amati, Guarneri, Stradivarius, oh my!  Bill and Elaine Mason run Wm Mason II, a full service violin shop specializing in lessons, bow rehairing, repair work, and now, violin design and craftsmanship.  Together with six interns, the Masons hope to put Fredericksburg on the map as a premier location for affordable, handcrafted violins, violas, and cellos.   

No novice luthier, Bill Mason spent four years in Pennsylvania under the tutelage of master makers Ed Campbell and Nelson Steffy, followed by another year with master maker Oded Kishony.  Mason is on the board of the Southern Violin Association and is on the new professional program committee with the Violin Society of America. While area music teachers and musicians may know of the Masons’ shop, many locals are unaware of the evolution it has undergone since opening seven years ago.  Elaine Mason describes the shop’s progress, “We started off with repair work, and then we added the rental program.  Two of our interns approached us about making instruments, and that’s what led us to developing our own line of violins that we make here in the shop.”  Bill Mason continues, “We have started The Violin Making Studio of Virginia where we’ve put together a program that allows interns to spend three years making five instruments.” 

Photos by A.E. Bayne

The Grace Oughton Cancer Foundation’s Legacy of Hope

in

Front Porch Magazine
January 2015 (pg. 31)

It is often in our darkest hour that we experience true selflessness from those around us.  So it was for the Oughton family between 2005 and 2007, when their youngest, Grace, was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a rare cancer that most often strikes children under five years of age.  It was during these two years, amidst leaving jobs and moving closer to specialty centers in Boston and New York, that the Oughtons experienced an outpouring of kindness from Alec’s coworkers in Henrico County, the likes of which they had never expected.  This culminated in the establishment of The Grace Oughton Cancer Foundation.  

Grace Oughton Cancer Foundation Mobile Lab - Photo provided by Alec Oughton