MORRIS, Conn. — The West Cornwall-based Housatonic Valley Association’s 33rd annual Auction for the Environment, held Saturday, Nov. 23, at South Farms, drew a full house as it reached its fundraising goal and provided attendees with a few unexpected surprises.
In a bittersweet moment, HVA President Tony Zunino announced that the association’s long-time Executive Director, Lynn Werner, will be stepping down from the position she has held since 1995.
“We are saying goodbye to Lynn Werner. Her leadership and vision has made an indelible mark on the Housatonic Valley Association,” Zunino said, eliciting thunderous applause and a standing ovation from the crowd of about 100 supporters, environmentalists and staff.
Another twist to tradition came when auction chair Christine Baranski, who has traditionally greeted the crowd with her trademark humor, was called up to Newport for the filming of the movie “The Gilded Age,” and her daughter, Lily Cowles, stepped in to deliver the keynote address as auction co-chair.
The activist, writer and movie producer did her mother proud during her first HVA auction as she spoke of “this sweet valley” where she grew up as a child and returned to as an adult.
From left, Andrew Stathopoulos and Philippa Durrant of Cornwall Bridge, HVA auction co-chair Elyse Harney Morris and Tony Zunino, president of HVA. Photo by Debra A. Aleksinas
“Our Housatonic Valley is sacred ground, and we gather today to honor that,” Cowles said. “I was born and raised here, and recently swam upstream to return to the home of my ancestors. There is no place sweeter than this valley, and there is so much to learn from this land.”
As if on cue, a phone rang nearby.
“It’s Mother Earth calling,” remarked Cowles. “Are you going to take the call?” she asked, without missing a beat, as the crowd erupted in laughter.
Growing up, Cowles said, HVA was a household name.
“It was like Christmas morning the day after the auction, and mom would get all excited wondering how much was raised,” she recalled.
Orchardist Peter Montgomery of Montgomery Gardens in Warren has been a frequent contributor of auction items over the years.Photo by Debra A. Aleksinas
During his speech, Zunino implored the crowd to “think about why we are here today. I hope it’s because you have a place in your heart for the Housatonic River Valley. It has brought a lot of us up here.”
The HVA president noted that his organization has protected 30,000 acres of important conservation land and has protected and restored 220 miles of the Housatonic River, a 41-mile stretch of which has been deemed “Wild and Scenic” by the federal government.
“It has taught school children and families how to keep the water clean and the turtles safe,” said Zunino.
During the silent auction portion of the event, staunch environmentalists and long-time supporters of HVA mingled with folks new to the area, and the organization, to peruse silent auction items as they sipped wine and nibbled hors d’oeuvres.
Peter Montgomery of Warren perused the items. The orchardist drove to the event in a classic red pick-up truck with a decorated Christmas tree in its bed, which he parked just outside the entry to the auction.
“I was trying to recreate a Hallmark moment,” Montgomery said with a chuckle, noting that he has contributed trees, fruit from his orchard and tutorials on orchards and apples as auction items in the past.
Nearby, Margery Feldberg, board president of the Kent-based Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy, had her eye on a Foodie Escape to Mystic, while Cindy Donaldson of Goshen remained in a “competitive hover” over the Exclusive Broadway Experience auction item offering two tickets to the Tony Award-winning Best Musical, “The Book of Mormon.”
Former State Rep. Jim Mahoney and State Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-5), also showed their support for HVA. “They worked very hard on the Housatonic River Wild & Scenic designation,” noted Hayes, who had sponsored the legislation. “I am so deeply committed to the work that they do.”
As of Thursday, Nov. 28, an exact tally of the funds raised from the auction, which drew a near sold-out crowd, was unavailable due to processing difficulties, according to HVA spokeswoman Lara Beckius. However, she noted, “We are thrilled to have hit our goal and for the fantastic attendance,” she said.
Margery Feldberg, far right, board president of the Kent-based Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy, was among bidders for the silent auction items.Photo by Debra A. Aleksinas
HVA officials had expected to match or surpass last year’s auction proceeds, which netted a record $205,000.
The next day, Werner reflected on this year’s Auction for the Environment, which was her last auction as executive director of the organization, as “such a heartwarming tribute, and a fantastic day.”
She said she felt the timing was right to step down from her long-held role.
“I let the board know in 2023 that I was considering it. It’s a good time, because we completed our Strategic Plan 2029 in the fall of 2023, and we have a strong set of strategies reaching into every part of the 2,000 square mile tri-state watershed toward achieving a climate ready Housatonic Valley by 2040.”
Werner praised HVA’s “amazing team of environmental scientists and community advocates on staff and a huge network of partners collaborating with us on land and water protection.”
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That sense of shared purpose is at the heart of the invitation Gast extended to artists Natalie Baxter and Janis Stemmermann to process a bumper crop of Japanese indigo (Persicaria tinctoria) at her studio this fall. All three artists’ practices intersect through material, process and an interest in the handmade. Gast and Stemmermann have collaborated on a series of hand-knit vests dyed with black walnut, available through Stemmermann’s store, Russell Janis. Baxter is a Wassaic Project residency and fellowship alum, who is leading a community quilting workshop there on Nov. 15. She also co-directs “Cottage Courses” with artist Polly Shindler, a series of hands-on artmaking workshops throughout the region.
“Lisa Dachinger of Hilltop Farm & Fiber Arts north of Pittsfield, Massachusetts had an abundance of indigo this year,” said Gast of her learning about the crop’s availability.In two trips to the farm, Gast harvested the plants and began experimenting with the ancient art and science of extracting pigment from the plants and transforming it into rich, layered blues.
Artists Christy Gast, left, and Natalie Baxter in Gast's studioPhoto by Natalia Zukerman
“There are a lot of steps,” Gast noted with a laugh, as vats of aerated indigo bubbled in the corner of the studio. The process is slow and physical, dependent on timing, temperature and a kind of faith in chemistry. The freshly harvested Japanese indigo leaves are first soaked in warm water and left to ferment for several days. The plant matter is then removed, the solution is strained and the pH is raised with the addition of calcium hydroxide, and then the mixture is aerated, poured back and forth between containers until it oxidizes and the pigment turns dark blue. After the indigo settles to the bottom, the resulting paste is filtered, dried and ground into powder. Only then is it ready for dyeing.
But as Stemmermann pointed out, “It’s not a dye. It’s a coating and reaction.” Indigo’s elusive chemistry means each piece is unpredictable, shaped as much by chance as by control. To achieve a deep, saturated blue, “you have to layer it and dip it up to eight times,” she explained.
Each artist uses dye in their work, albeit quite differently, yet all share a deep sensitivity to material and process. “There is a seasonality to textile work,” said Baxter, referring to dye plants.“First, there’s the planting. And then you wait for them to grow, you harvest them, you dye the fabric and then it’s wintertime.” During quilt season when our attention turns inward, the patient, hands-on process becomes a meditation on slowness for Baxter, mirroring the rhythm of the earth and a quiet longing to move with it.
Processing Japanese indigoPhoto by Natalie Baxter
For Gast, working with plant dyes is a way to align artistic practice with ecology and activism. “I’m working on a project that will be showing at Mass MoCA in 2027,” she explained. “It’s a collaborative opera about peatlands for which I’m producing a textile installation that functions as the curtains. I’m using as many natural and regional processes as possible because our work has to do with local-to-global activism and conservation. There is a chemical alchemy in peatlands, which despite covering just 3% of the Earth’s surface, capture more than twice the carbon of all the planet’s forests combined. There’s a direct poetic alignment between plant dye processes and peatlands, which preserved some of the earliest textiles we know of. And the color palette is ancient, both familiar and uncanny.”
There’s a certain chaos in balancing experimentation with intent. For Gast, Baxter, and Stemmermann, this first attempt at pigment extraction has been as much about curiosity as outcome, a communal act of making, rooted in patience, experimentation and discovery.
To find out more about these artists, visit: christygast.com, nataliebaxter.com and janisstemmermann.com
