Books and Puzzles

Books and Puzzles by Stephen Shoemaker

"Uniquely Created, Can’t Be Imitated" ($14.99)

Stephen teamed up with author Kendra Graybeal and illustrated her book, Uniquely Created, Can’t Be Imitated. 

Kendra Graybeal has written a children’s book that connects children in a most delightful way to the fact that they were created to be one of a kind. The title, Uniquely Created, Can’t Be Imitated, captures the heart of this one-of-a-kind book illustrated by local, Ashe County artist, Stephen Shoemaker. 

Written in colorful rhyme, or near rhyme, with whimsical and creative illustrations, Uniquely Created, Can’t Be Imitated will find a warm place in the hearts of audiences of all ages who are children now and were children once.

The author wrote this book to benefit the missions of The NEST Alliance, and 100% of the profits from the sale of the book will go directly to The NEST Alliance, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to help children and families in Ashe County, North Carolina. 

NOTE: Local pickup only. 

The book is self-published and available online from the NEST Alliance website: www.thenestalliance.org

 "Stephen Shoemaker: The Paintings and Their Stories" ($40)

North Carolina artist Stephen Shoemaker and writer Janet Pittard teamed up to present a selection of Shoemaker’s paintings and drawings and the stories behind them. 

Known for his dramatic railroad paintings and scenes of life in the Blue Ridge mountains, Shoemaker shares the thought processes involved in creating his artwork, reveals his sources of inspiration (which often include events in local history or personal experiences) and points out clues and symbols appearing in his art. Together with 48 images, several of which were created especially for this publication, and occasional short poems by Pittard, the lively storytelling sheds light on an artist’s development as well as the unique culture and history of the mountain region served by the train called the Virginia Creeper, which ran from Abingdon, Virginia, to Elkland, North Carolina (now Todd), from the early 1900s through the mid–1970s.

Janet Pittard is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Our State and Signature magazines and who has written for UNC-TV’s Our State program. She lives in Raleigh and West Jefferson.

Format: softcover (8.5 x 11)
Pages: 128
Bibliographic Info: 39 color reproductions, 9 b&w reproductions, 1 map, index
Copyright Date: 2013
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7467-7
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0348-3
Imprint: McFarland

"River Crossing" Puzzle ($20) - OUT OF STOCK

Take care of that rainy day with a fun 550-piece jigsaw puzzle of Stephen Shoemaker's "River Crossing" train painting. 

At 24″x18″ the completed puzzle could be framed and preserved forever on your wall.