I am going to express several amazingly large numbers in terms of how many millions they represent. I believe most of us can relate to the concept of millions, millionaires, etc. But we have a very hard time relating to a billion (it’s 1,000 million) and we are essentially unable to conceptualize what a trillion means (it’s 1,000,000 million). So, let’s make millions our benchmark.As I write this column, Apple Computer is selling for about $629 per share. It is now the most valuable publicly held company in the world — not just now — ever. Its market capitalization, the value of all its shares times $629, is approximately $587 billion ($587,000 million). ExxonMobil, the second highest valued entity, is at $404 billion. What’s perhaps more amazing about Apple is that, at their last reporting date in December 2011, they had a hoard of cash and investments of over $97.5 billion. Try that on for size. That’s $97,500 million of liquid assets. These giant figures set a context for even more amazingly large numbers.The US of A’s spending (there’s no budget because the Senate has not passed one in more than 1,000 days) per annum is north of $3 trillion ($3,000,000 million. Not a misprint!). But our taxes and other sources of revenue are over $1 trillion short and have been for each of the last three years. We’ve added more than $5 trillion to our primary debt since the start of 2009, to a level of about $16 trillion, and are projecting, at current levels of spending, to keep piling new debt up at a rate of a trillion or so per year for the foreseeable future. One trillion is 10 times in one year what it took the world’s most valuable company 35 years to accumulate. Sixteen trillion is 164 times the size of Apple’s cash hoard. And that is just the primary debt.In addition to our primary debt, we have north of $50 trillion (50,000,000 million. Yes that’s right – 50,000,000 million) of unfunded liabilities for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. And still counting. That’s 512 times the size of Apple’s cash pile. We have piled up the largest debt pile in the history of the world without including the unfunded entitlement liabilities. Including the entitlement liabilities, our debts are totally mind boggling. Nearly $70 trillion. No company, no government, no entity on earth has that kind of money. About the only thing that is keeping our economy from going from weak growth into a huge tailspin is that the U.S. dollar is still the reserve currency for many cross-border transactions.u u uThese debt numbers are not politically motivated, not Democratic, not Republican, not Independent. They just are facts. We can keep refinancing the primary debt as long as someone is willing to keep lending to us. Keep in mind, however, that if interest rates were to climb, the cost of servicing the debt would climb by about $160 billion ($160,000 million) per year for each 1 percent rise in rates. Predictably, at some level of debt, the market will conclude that the United States has such a high debt relative to its overall economic output that no more lending will be forthcoming.And yet, incredibly, the current administration proposed a budget that dealt with none of these fundamental budget-busting overspending issues. That budget was voted down unanimously in the U.S. House of Representatives, 417 to 0. For the first time in several years a budget was proffered that contains a bi-partisan plan, for Medicare reform, which was coauthored by Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan (R) and Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden (D), which does begin to tackle the difficult issues which are baked into the debt and entitlement numbers I’ve discussed above. That budget passed in the House of Representatives, but will not be brought to the floor of the Senate for a vote by Senate leader Harry Reid (D) of Nevada.I have read several critiques of the Ryan/Wyden Medicare plan, including a scathing critique from President Obama, that claimed it would send Medicare into a death spiral, reduce college aid, chop funds to autistic kids, etc. And I thought: That’s impossible. Medicare’s already in a financial death spiral. We are overspending on so many fronts. It’s not true that cutting spending will cause all these horrific results. What is certain is that it is a numerical lock that by not becoming more efficient in how we help the poor, the sick, the elderly, the college students, our kids, that we foreordain suffering on all these groups. We need to makes substantive changes to pull back from that otherwise numerically predetermined fate.In Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises”, someone asks Mike Campbell (played in the movie adaptation by Errol Flynn, for you old movie buffs): “How did you go bankrupt?” Comes his reply: “Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.” The United States is in the gradual stage of going bankrupt. Check out Greece for the sudden stage. It is not too late to pull back. But our amazingly large debt numbers (nearly $70 trillion or $70 million million or $70,000,000,000,000) cannot be ignored. We need to ask candidates of both parties in the 2012 election where they stand on our numerically certain debt crisis. Are they part of the ongoing problem or active participants in the solution?Richard Shanley, CPA, is a retired audit partner of the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche. He lives in Salisbury.
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Textile designer Justine Valla sits in her father’s chair, which she painted, alongside her husband, illustrator and muralist Victor Valla, in their Atelier Valla studio.
“I was always drawing as a child,” Justine recalled. Victor dreamed of illustrating magazine covers like those of the “Saturday Evening Post.”
Victor studied design and illustration at Rochester Institute of Technology, then received a fellowship to study painting and printmaking at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaigne. He graduated in 1967. The following year, he received a grant from the Tiffany Foundation to study printmaking in Paris at Atelier 17, an experimental graphic arts workshop founded in 1927.
“What a great experience that was!” he recalled.
Returning home after the Paris uprisings of 1968, he discovered that the magazine covers he’d hoped to paint had largely given way to photography. His agent suggested trying record covers, which he pursued along with illustration and graphic design.
He also began teaching at Kean University in New Jersey.
“Kean had a wonderful graphic design and illustration department. I loved teaching Graphic Design, even though I never thought I would.”
He later taught at Syracuse University and Pennsylvania College of Art and Design.
In the late 1980s, he decided to stop teaching and concentrate on his own art. He moved to Falls Village, to a house on the corner of Minor and Prospect Streets.
“I used to call the studio ‘Minor Prospects Atelier,’” he said.
He continued working in illustration and graphic design, creating book covers for stories by H.P. Lovecraft and other authors, along with magazine covers, logos, advertising and murals.
Justine and Victor Valla in their studio with a painting of Victor’s,”Jonah and the Whale.” Robin Roraback
His local commissions include the green and gold Noble Horizons signage and wall murals for the Stockbridge Inn, the Spa at Norwich Inn, Orchards Hotel in Williamstown and the David M. Hunt Library’s children’s section.
Justine grew up in the Bronx and studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology. After graduating, she took on whatever work she could find, including designing toys and novelty items for Russ Berrie. But her true calling was textile design.
She moved to Los Angeles to pursue that calling, where she learned silkscreen printing from 1960s design icon Corita Kent.
“I was in her program at Immaculate Heart College. All fabric design at that time was silk screen. My first job in textile design was in L.A., creating wallpaper for Bob Mitchell Design.”
Justine returned to New York City, where the advent of computers required her to learn new design techniques. She enrolled at Parsons School of Design, studying Photoshop, Illustrator, Lectra U4ia and Kaledo.
Around this time, she met Victor online and moved to Falls Village.
A recruiter found her a job in Arkansas at Dillard’s, a department store chain operating in 30 states and known for its exclusive designer collections.
“They had the best equipment I’d ever seen,” she said.
She became a senior computer-aided design designer there, designing fabric and preparing purchased designs for production.
The Vallas left Falls Village for Little Rock.
“It was a big move,” she said. “It was a different culture, but Little Rock was very progressive.”
The originally planned to stay in Arkansas for five years but ended up remaining for nearly 10.
Then Justine was hit by a car. She suffered injuries to her leg and head and required four years of rehabilitation.
“I lost the ability to paint after the accident. I struggled to paint again.”
The Vallas returned to Connecticut, this time settling in Salisbury, where they’ve lived since 2013.
After leaving Dillard’s, Justine had planned to sell her work through Printsource in New York City, an international showcase for surface and textile design. But after the accident, she no longer had the mobility or energy to travel back and forth to the city.
Instead, she began selling her work locally at craft shows, including clothing, hand-printed tea towels and floorcloths.
She is currently working on selling her collection of textile designs.
In December, Justine will have a show of her tea-themed watercolors at the NorthEast-Millerton Library.
Victor recently exhibited “The American West: A Pictural History” at the NorthEast-Millerton Library. The series, created in the early 1990s, was part of a commission from the Postal Commemorative Society for which he completed 100 paintings in two years.
He hopes to place the series in a museum and has created books from its images, complete with text. Over the years, he has designed many other books that are ready for publication, including “Looking In, Looking Out,” a cosmic view of the universe.
Reflecting on his career, Victor said, “It’s about doing what you love”.
Justine agreed.
To see, purchase or commission work, contact Justine at justinevalla@gmail.com or Victor at victorvalla@comcast.net, or call 860-596-4282.
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Jane Herold’s beautifully simple dinnerware.
Cornwall ceramicist Jane Herold explained that there’s quite a lot of enthusiasm for Clay Way among the region’s ceramic artists.
“We all need work space, which is hard to find or afford in urban areas. The wood-fire crowd needs lots of wood and outdoor space. This area is great because it’s rural enough for us, but has a wonderfully enthusiastic and supportive population of pottery [patrons].”
While many of the artists are returning from previous years, the loose collection of unofficial organizers likes to keep the event manageable for the public, limiting the number of artists and studios each year. A direct drive from the southernmost point at Ann Heywood’s studio in Wingdale to Herold’s big barn in Cornwall is under 40 minutes. But if you want to catch it all, plan for a full day’s worth of art exploration along some of the most beautiful roads in New England.
Starting at its northernmost point, Herold’s studio will host Matin Malikzada of Afghanistan, whose polished, modern interpretations of traditional forms are instantly recognizable. They’ll be joined by wood-fired ceramicists Steve Johnson, with his raw, organic forms, and Harry Levenstein, whose works relate closely to Johnson’s while making even more direct references to nature.
Herold herself creates work that is both beautiful and utilitarian. Her prolific output of objects is intended to be used by everyday people as part of their daily lives.
Moving south is Todd Piker of Cornwall Bridge Pottery. Piker has been making pots in his giant wood-fired kiln since 1971. The kiln looks more like an ancient blast furnace than something designed to transform clay into ceramics, but over the years, he’s mastered its intricacies and produces an impressive amount of fine work.
A ceramic vase by Kathleen Heidemann.Provided
Piker will host Sanah Peterson, who works at Cornwall Bridge Pottery and draws inspiration from both her time with Piker and her time traveling the globe as a child. They’ll be joined by Stephanie Haines, whose vibrant, eye-catching work features underglaze illustrations of birds, fruit and the bounty of nature.
Further along in Warren, Jessica Dubin’s pieces will be on display at the studio of Christine Owen. Both artists seem to appreciate the chaos and unpredictable nature of clay but find ways to refine it all using their own unique methods.
Heading east to Washington, Conn., Will Talbot’s creates intricate work while allowing for the unpredictable nature of clay to play a role. His studio will house Tom Knox and his wide variety of textures and forms, as well as New York City-based Alex Lebedev, who lets music and the nature of improvisation guide his work.
There will be two studios participating in South Kent. Alison Palmner, whose page on the Clay Way website states she “strives to achieve a lighthearted meld of human forms, animals and the vessel.” Her studio will host Ben Eberle, who trained under the guidance of legendary potter Toshiko Takaezu; James Guggina, whose intricate work can appear both deliberate and whimsical; and Paula Shalan, who blends rough, unrefined surfaces with polished precision in individual pieces.
Joy Brown’s delightful ceramic sculptures.Provided
Nearby is Joy Brown, whose work have become a staple of the area, with her figurative sculptures dotting the Northwest Corner. Brown’s studio will also feature Bonnie Levine, who taps into the beauty of chaos and destruction in her work, and Brendan Moore, whose more utilitarian forms are perfect for everyday use.
Finally, the tour crosses the border into Wingdale, New York, where the studios of Drew Montgomery, Ann Heywood and Amy Brenner will host Jackie Sedlock, Lynn Behrendt,and Kathleen Heidemann.
Brenner creates some of the most colorful and vibrant pieces on the tour, while Behrendt’s work is among the most studied and precise. Heywood creates carefully considered, intuitive forms, while Heidemann moves from simple minimalism to intricate textures. Montgomery and Sedlock both find new ways of playing with traditional forms, producing delightfully distinctive pieces.
To learn more about the artists and download a map of participating studios, visit clayway.net
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