SHARON — There was still snow on the ground on Friday, March 1, when the Mad Gardeners held a spring planting symposium in one of the greenhouses at Paley’s Farm Market on Route 343. For flowers, black is ‘in’The event, attended by more than 30 area professionals — growers, garden designers, retailers and dedicated home gardeners —was an opportunity to share ideas and hear about the latest trends in the gardening world. Such as: Black is the new pink. Sounds like a diktat from a fashion magazine, but in fact, it’s the newest trend in flower colors, according to Mitch Rand of the Ball Seed Co., one of the largest horticulture companies in the world. And to prove his point he gestured to page 9 of the Ball catalogue: black velvet petunia, phantom petunia, ‘blackout’ Heuchera, black pearl ornamental pepper, “After-Dark” Agonis. But actually, the It color for this year is green, he said. Think acid and lime. Also, fragrance — after years of being an afterthought to the shape, size and color of a plant — is making a comeback.Charlie Paley, host of the symposium, and Roberta Scott, owner of Falls Village Flower Farm, (they are, by the way, siblings) may have some black varieties on hand, but both said that what they care about most is sustainability, longevity, durability. Andy Durbridge, a garden designer and the moderator of the symposium, said, “One of the things that growers do is filter, by their years of experience, the plants that work well, that thrive in our region. They weed out the finicky, troublesome plants that may not be worth the soil they’re planted in.”Scott, who presented at the symposium, said, “I don’t sell anything that I haven’t successfully grown at the nursery. If you want to be [a plant] in my nursery, you have to be disease-resistant and look good all season.” That means she usually sees a plant through several growing cycles before she recommends it. While some of the talk was about the fun, sexy stuff such as new varietals — begonias are leaving their slightly waxy, stuffy, Victorian image behind as they go either jumbo or micro in new styles and colors — the focus was also on troubleshooting and how to best serve the customer. Dangers that lurkRand talked a lot about downy mildew, a plague that was prevalent last year on impatiens. Apparently, entire swaths of the colorful, hardy, ground-covering plant have been wiped out by this fast-moving fungus. Paley noted that as of last year it hadn’t hit this corner of Connecticut, but he asks himself if he’s going to grow lots of impatiens this year. “It’s usually a pretty bulletproof plant. I used to sell a lot of it, but it seems customers are branching out.” This segued into talk of the begonia and hardier varieties of impatiens, such as New Guinea, divine and sunpatiens.Durbridge also spoke about the solid science behind mixing it up with plantings. “When you invest in a plant, that is, use a lot of one type, and it’s not so successful, it makes a very good case for mixing things up. If you have a lot of one thing and it fails, your landscape will suffer. The more variety you have, the more sustainable your garden will be.”Glories of the greenhousePaley gave the participants a tour of one of the greenhouses. Stepping inside was like walking into spring. A deep aromatic loamy smell of earth rose from the hundreds of flats of pansies getting ready for their April debut. Paley talked about the economics of the nursery business and how he balances the needs of his customers with the staggering costs of fuel oil, cardboard and plastic, of which he uses copious amounts. This year for the first time, he will be using Cowpots, the plantable invention of the Freunds of North Canaan. The seedling pots are made from manure from the family’s dairy farm.Paley also recycles as much of the plastic as he can, and yes, he welcomes returns of the 4- and 6-inch pots with his logo on the side. Falls Village Flower Farm specializes in herbaceous perennials and woody perennials, such as roses and hydrangeas. Scott said, “Some of the best perennials, that will work well, have been around for awhile.”She is a big fan of hellebores. They are, she says, “virtually indestructible. If you give them time, you can turn them into ground cover. They live forever and are low maintenance.” Scott left the audience with a long list of plants she’s excited about. The mention of blue yonder agapanthus elicited oohs and aahs from the crowd.While winter looks to be hanging around for a few weeks more, the Mad Gardeners of Northwest Connecticut are already plotting and planning, and growing in their greenhouses.Paley’s opens for the season on March 30. The next Mad Gardeners symposium is March 9 at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. And there will be a Mad Gardeners workshop March 8 at an 18th-century property in Sharon that is undergoing renovations.For information, go to www.madgardeners.com.
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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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