WASSAIC — There’s no easy way to go through cancer treatment. But thanks to Wassaic resident Cindy Snow, those who have to undergo chemotherapy and other related treatments now have a little something to make that process easier, and it comes hand-delivered in a shoebox.Snow is the creator of Bonnie Boxes — individually decorated shoeboxes filled with thoughtful and much-needed items for the arduous journey cancer patients make while undergoing treatment. Besides being useful they show the patients that there are those in the world who care for them and their welfare, a sentiment that can be more important than any item donated — no matter how necessary.“The reaction I’m getting now verifies that they are definitely needed and appreciated,” said Snow. “One nurse said she felt special when handing them to her patients. Another nurse said she handed one to a gentleman going through cancer treatment and he burst into tears. He couldn’t believe a stranger made it who cared and understood.”Snow understands. She herself is a breast cancer survivor. She said she knows how exhausting chemotherapy can be, often lasting five to six hours a session. She also is aware of how lonely therapy can be for those who don’t have family or friends by their side.Snow said she was inspired by her friend Bonnie Rotker Acker and her son, Andrew, from Atlanta, Ga. Acker was going through cancer treatment when she and her son started delivering warm, cozy socks to other cancer patients in preparation of Andrew’s Bar Mitzvah. “A long story short is I tried to copy what she was doing,” Snow said. But it was difficult collecting enough socks. Snow eventually switched her project to Because We Care, and included more items in the boxes. It was well-received, but only by a small audience.Then Bonnie died on Feb. 1 of this year. Snow once again changed the project name, this time to Bonnie Boxes, and it “took off,” due in large part to a Facebook page put together by a mutual friend. Donations poured in, along with the shoeboxes in which those donations would ultimately be delivered. Now there are 10 states with 16 chapters that participate in the Bonnie Boxes project.“Oh my goodness,” said Snow. “I honestly think everybody can find comfort with it. Everybody feels so helpless when it comes to cancer and friends always ask, ‘What can I do?’ People want to help … and this is comforting.”“I watched my grandmother die of cancer and pretty much had always been there for her, and I watched others die of cancer, and it’s just touched so many people,” said Bonnie Boxes volunteer Lisa Dunlop. “Nothing really catches my interest that doesn’t involve my son, and this was it. And he was interested too. For a 9-year-old boy to say, ‘I want to do this,’ that kid has a big heart.”Dunlop said it’s easy to get lost in the spirit of kindness and generosity associated with the philosophy behind Bonnie Boxes. She said one woman she delivered a box to at a local hospital was overwhelmed with the gesture.“She was just amazed and shocked that someone would come in and bring that. She was so grateful,” Dunlop said. “Some people that go into chemotherapy don’t have any friends or family; they do it by themselves. I can’t imagine that but it must be the hardest thing in the world to go through.”The project has even made an impact on local Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts, who have been helping out by making Bonnie Boxes and collecting donations to fill them with. In Wassaic, the Scouts have been busy creating get well cards for the cancer patients to receive. “It’s amazing,” said Snow. The Bonnie Boxes come with a message inside: “This Bonnie Box of Love [is] for Cancer Warriors. May the treasures inside of this box offer you comfort, love and hope during this time. Made especially for you.”Donations are greatly appreciated. Snow said items to donate that go inside of every box include the following: Chap-stick, hand sanitizer, Dove unscented bars, snacks (crackers, almonds, ginger snaps), dark chocolate, small cans of ginger ale, notebooks, pens, two-year planners, warm and fuzzy socks and hats (hats must be made of baby-soft yarn) and grumbly bears.Grumbly bears, Snow explained, are furry pet toys of any sort that can be held up as a signal by patients feeling impatient in order to avoid getting into a spat with their loved ones.“Patients have told me, ‘Grumbly bears are saving my life!’,” Snow said. “That kind of cracks me up.”Currently Bonnie Boxes are delivered to a number of hospitals in the region: the Dyson Cancer Care Center in Poughkeepsie, Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington, Conn., and Danbury Hospital in Danbury, Conn. Soon they may be going to Sharon Hospital, if all goes well, Snow said. Bonnie Boxes will have a table at the United Presbyterian Church of Amenia’s book and bake sale on Saturday, March 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The church is located on Route 22, just north of the main traffic light in town. There will a variety of new items for sale, the proceeds of which will go toward buying goods to include in Bonnie Boxes. For more information call Snow at 845-877-9013 or check out Bonnie Boxes on Facebook. Donation for Bonnie Boxes may be dropped off at Snow’s residence at 3631 Route 22, Wassaic, 12592. There is a donation box located in her garage, which remains open to the public for such use.
Latest News
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.
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
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
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
