MILLBROOK — The hills are alive with the sound of male songbirds. For most of us, this persistent chirp, cackle, whistle and tweet is little more than background chatter, inconsequential and, in any case, indecipherable. But between birds, science has learned, it is richly communicative.Early in May at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies’ auditorium in Millbrook, a standing-room-only crowd of bird lovers turned up to see and hear one of the world’s foremost ornithologists explain a bit about where bird songs originate and why birds sing the way they do. Professor Donald Kroodsma has spent his professional life listening and recording bird song by himself and with teams in a great variety of Western Hemisphere locations, from Saskatchewan to the Falkland Islands, and not a few places in the Tri-corner area. One welcome result is his volume, “The Singing Life of Birds,” which chronicles his life as an ornithologist.Kroodsma grew up in western lower Michigan. He was drawn to science but didn’t settle on ornithology until his last college semester, when he chose to study bird migration through the avian visitors to a local marsh. This led him to the marsh wren and what turned out to a lifelong fascination with this small, vocal bird — and a source of several important ornithological discoveries. Birders have a reputation for being rather quiet, studious, solemn folk. Kroodsma in prose and person is anything but. His book’s tone echoes that of his Cary lecture: eagerly inquisitive, self-aware (as scientists must be), single-minded and cheerfully persistent. The richest period of the day for capturing bird song is the hour from the first faint glimmer of light to dawn, often called the dawn chorus. Reading his fascinating book, it is easy to imagine arising well before this time to rendezvous with him on the edge of an Oregon meadow or the cattail marsh south of Tivoli before beginning several hours of painstaking recording and analysis.His pursuit of the marsh wren started, as all pioneering science tends to, with a fundamental question that no one had adequately answered: Why do birds sing? This soon led to other fundamental questions: How do birds become songsters? Why are bird songs different? What connects a bird’s song with its life experience? In more than 35 years of field and laboratory work to date, Kroodsma’s hard-won discoveries have deepened understanding of the natural world close around us and led to him being recognized by the American Ornithologists’ Union as “the reigning authority on the biology of avian vocal behavior.”Kroodsma’s methods have been simple, if laborious. In the field, he identifies a species he wants to study, locates several members, then records them until he is sure he has captured the full range of their repertoire — from fewer than a dozen songs for the common blue jay to, in an extreme case, more than 2,000 for the brown thrasher. His gear (as of 2007): A Sound Devices 722 recorder, a parabolic-dish microphone, headphones, a poncho, flashlights, binoculars and a Crazy Creek camping chair. An appendix obligingly discusses equipment with much advice for the beginner and amateur on a limited budget, and begins with a good-natured warning: Recording bird song “can become additive … don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.”Kroodsma’s discoveries have often involved differences indistinguishable to the untrained ear. Fascinated at one point by the eastern bluebird’s absence in the literature of avian song, he sets out to learn why. Since the first bird emerged 150 million years ago, avian species have multiplied until there are some 10,000 on the planet now. While new species occasionally emerge due to further genetic specialization, far more are lost because of habitat destruction, pollution, pesticides and global warming.“The Singing Life of Birds” is the impassioned report of a first-rate scientist determined to get to the bottom a fundamental question few others have asked. In a world — or certainly a country — where science is often misconstrued as a political agenda, Kroodsma’s life work is both a stirring reminder of the true value of science and an infectious summons to the pleasures and rewards of ornithology.Tom Parrett is a writer who lives in Millerton and Greenwich Village.
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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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