CORNWALL — The response of the Board of Finance (BOF) to proposed town and school budgets for 2014-15 was more of a philosophical and legal one than about numbers.The board’s regular meeting March 19 was also a chance to look at other aspects of spending. A large chunk of the meeting was devoted to discussing with school board members and Cornwall Consolidated School (CCS) Principal Michael Croft more than $47,000 in surplus funds. One part of the surplus is $10,000 — the difference between what was approved in the local budget for regional education spending and the actual assessment after a reduced Region One budget was accepted after seven referendum votes. Another $37,531 is a credit to the last payment (in April) on Cornwall’s regional assessment now that actual spending for the fiscal year can be determined. At its meeting earlier in the day, the school board heard Croft’s proposal to use $25,000 to close a budget gap that came when a new English teacher was hired over the summer at a greater salary and benefits cost. He said spending for non-essentials had been carefully monitored up to that point. Another $12,000 could be used to “pre-buy” instructional supplies for next year and reduce that budget line. The school cannot retain funds from one fiscal year to the next. Only the town can have savings accounts, capital project funds and other undesignated fund balances.Finance members were divided on who gets to decide what to do with those funds. Funds for town or school?In some other towns it was decided that on a legal basis, the “returned” funds belong to the town, as the tax-levying authority that pays the bills. The discussion in Cornwall last week included setting policy for procedure going forward. Longtime finance member Earl Brecher said it has been a practice to let the school board make the decision about spending it.Chairman John LaPorta compared it to an additional revenue source, since it is above what was budgeted. He also noted that the school budget becomes one line item in the town budget, and the finance board can ask only for a change to the bottom line.Celia Senzer noted Croft said they could have gotten by without the $37,000. She advocated reducing the amount the school wants to use.The local school board is proposing a $148,541, or 5.84 percent increase that is due mostly to contractual salary increases and a regionwide increase in health insurance costs. Some finance members said they were amazed at how small the overall increase is, given the large increases in those two categories. Croft and school board Chairman Becky Hurlburt said big savings can come only with staffing cuts, which are not possible given there is only one teacher per grade.But not every finance member agreed. Combined classroomsAlternate finance member Maureen Donahue noted Cornwall has had combined classrooms in the past, and that schools with similar declining enrollment, such as Lee H. Kellogg in Falls Village, are doing so successfully now. She added that CCS combined two grades recently, but kept the extra teacher on staff.She acknowledged that not laying off teachers has been a priority for the school board, but staff reduction in response to enrollment is “a trend that needs to start now.”Senzer said she wholeheartedly agrees. Croft presented a plan to make a change that involves staffing, and possibly a savings.Board clerk Susan Gingert will retire at the end of April. The plan is to transfer the payroll and accounts payable portion of that job to the town finance director, who will have to be paid accordingly. Croft said it is not ideal from his perspective of having a 35-hour clerk who can occasionally squeeze in tasks not in the job description. But it will make the position ineligible for health insurance. The new position would be 28 hours with vacation time. The school board would maintain the option to return to the current full-time clerk for any fiscal year.Finance members also debated a bottom-line cut for the school budget proposal. While some said it was a little late in the process, others said this is precisely what the budget season is about.In the end, it took four motions to hash out two decisions. Bill Hurlburt moved that the school budget be approved as presented with the condition that next year, surplus funds be returned to the town. Town Finance Director Barbara Herbst said she believed combining the two would violate state statute. A motion by Senzer to request a 10 percent reduction to the school budget was not seconded.Janet Sanders moved the school budget be accepted as proposed. It was approved with one dissenting vote, from Senzer.Brecher moved that the Region One budget overages be spent as proposed, but that they be “returned to the town” after this. Senzer was, again, the only nay vote.The selectmen’s budget is proposed to rise by 5.25 percent, or more than $89,000. A large part of that is the same regionwide increase in health insurance costs. Greater social service needThere was a little friction over control. While LaPorta said the finance board could make changes to any line item, First Selectman Gordon Ridgway disagreed.“Your job is not to micromanage each line item,” he said. “It’s to determine how much the town can afford and not to make decisions about line items.”Specifically addressed was the social services budget. The selectmen approved half of a $6,000 (or 41 percent) rise to meet increased demand. Finance members said they were not aware of what the social worker was doing in that department and if the increase is merited. Ridgway said his board asked for monthly reports to track services and case-load changes.Finance members passed a motion to approve the entire request for an increase from the Northwest Corner Chore Service. They had been getting a $1,500 donation. They asked for $5,000. The selectmen put $4,000 in their budget, and advised that it covers only part of the gap between costs and what residents pay for the services that help keep seniors and disabled people in their own homes. That approval came after a withdrawn motion and discussion over a suggestion by Senzer to take the additional $1,000 from a $2,000 donation budgeted for the Cornwall Conservation Trust. Finance members said they support the work of the trust and reasoned that whether or not the funding could be found elsewhere, it was too insignificant an amount and would send a false negative message.A look at revenues and other budget impacts was tabled due to time, until the next meeting.
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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.
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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