The Planning and Zoning Commission approved a medical marijuana dispensary at its meeting on Monday, March 24.The motion to approve the dispensary was made by Commission alternate Michael Renzullo and seconded by Commission member Barbara Wilkes.The motion was approved by Commission Vice-Chairman Craig Sanden, members Susan Closson, Renzullo and Wilkes.Commission member Art Melycher was the lone vote against the motion to approve the dispensary.Melycher did not say why he voted against the dispensary. However, at a previous public hearing in December, Melycher’s wife Monica Melycher spoke out against the medical marijuana dispensary. Commission Chairman Mike Peacock was not present at the meeting.The meeting was the end of five months of meetings concerning the dispensary.On Nov. 25, James Dietz, president of the Nutmeg State Health and Wellness Center, presented plans for the commission during a regular meeting.At the meeting, Dietz said 26 companies applied for a dispensary license from the state.Dietz proposed to the commission to open a licensed medical marijuana dispensary at a building which was formerly a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise on New Hartford Road.At the time, commission members complained that the town’s zoning regulations would not allow for a medical marijuana dispensary in town.In December, the commission shot down the company’s proposal and held subsequent meetings in order to update the town’s zoning codes.During the commission’s meeting on Feb. 24, the board changed the town’s zoning regulations in order to allow for medical marijuana dispensaries and production facilities.At the meeting on March 24, the commission held a public hearing on the proposed facility and zoning regulation changes.The public hearing was the third related to the medical marijuana dispensary.Only two residents spoke at the hearing: Mariana Sarfo of Hinsdale Avenue and Selectman George Closson.Sarfo spoke strongly against the facility and said she was “totally” against it.“The medicinal value of marijuana is very questionable,” Sarfo said. “I think anybody who would permit this in Winsted is a fool. The reputation of this town is bad enough with what happened with [Former Finance Director] Henry Centrella.”Sarfo said she is in the medical profession and has worked as a nurse.“I have had hundreds of patients over the past 10 years and I would say 85 percent of them were cancer patients,” she said. “I have never had one patient on marijuana. There are people who have had forged prescriptions for Oxycontin. There are some doctors out there who will give prescriptions to anybody. I think it is a big mistake to have this facility here. There are already medications out there to help people with cancer. I am very upset.”Closson said the board needed to remain focused on zoning regulations and the application.“I think the issue that she just spoke about was about the pros and cons of marijuana,” Closson said. “The issue that is before you is the application. The issue is not about whether you approve of [marijuana], It is also if the merits of this application has been approved to your satisfaction. You need to deal with these issues instead of whether or not [marijuana] is good or not. We all have personal opinions on this.”Sarfo tried to speak out again against the facility, but Sanden would not let her.“We are here to go by the regulations,” Sanden said. “I don’t have a position on this and I am only speaking for myself. Zoning is not what’s good, bad or indifferent. It’s only about what zoning is concerned. I am not a moralist.”Sanden said that Public Works Department Neil Amwake, Zoning Enforcement Officer Marc Melanson, Fire Marshall Steve Williams and Police Chief Robert Scannell all reviewed the plans for the dispensary and did not have any issues with the application.After the application was approved, Dietz said he was happy with the commission’s decision.However, Dietz said the commission’s approval does not automatically mean that the dispensary will ever be built.Dietz said the state still needs to decide whether or not to grant a license to the dispensary.He said the state is scheduled to make a decision in April, but even that is not set in stone.“It has been a long road,” Dietz said. “Really, it’s in the state’s hands now. It’s a big question mark on when we might hear from them. Hopefully we are still in the running for a license.”Dietz said that if the company does get a license from the state they would be able to open within 45 days of receiving the license.
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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.
L. Tomaino
“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.
Provided
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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