One of the problems with spouting good-sounding but dead-wrong policy changes is that it is so hard for the egos to admit they might have it even possibly, maybe a little, just a teensy bit, wrong. You see, all this economic disaster has happened before — in fact worse — to many of the world’s largest economies. In the 1980s Japan suffered an economic bank meltdown that made our savings and loan disaster look like a kiddies’ party. So bad was the financial outlook for the world’s third largest economy that they were faced with two options: Raise taxes for the rich while sticking trillions into the economy (stimulus money) or cut social services, slash government spending and try and balance the budget. The argument was fierce at the time. The more rational voices prevailed over the wealthy conservative party. All of industry was against the stimulus spending. Aha, but within five years Japan had not only regained lost ground, it had also improved on its balance of payments and economic outlook. Most of the good news was in exports; think Sony, Toyota, Nissan and company.That is why it is particularly cruel that after the economic bust affecting all the leading nations’ spending habits (fewer cars, TVs and stuff being sold for the past two years now), Mother Nature should deal such a harsh blow to the Japanese economy, which had, by and large, weathered our mortgage crisis storm. So now, what to do? They need to spend trillions to right the aftermath of the tsunami and earthquake disasters. And if the nation is spending trillions, how are they going to balance the budget and help the economy off its knees once again?Funny thing is, their Congress, the Diet, heard proposals to remedy the situation with stimulus spending on top of recovery spending. There were dissenting voices, to be sure, but industry has been quiet this time round. Seems that the large companies learned from the last success that sometimes it takes money and fiscal tightrope-walking to make it to the other side of a financial chasm. And that’s what they have. And we do, too.Meanwhile Europe is trying the same old slash-and-cut, tighten-your-belts gambit. Well, does that work? Sure, up to a point. The problem is it breeds inflation. Look, let me explain this simply. If you make 100 cars, you buy steel cheaper than if you were only making 40 cars. If you only make 40 cars, you have to charge more for them. If you buy gas for your gas station but then cut that back 40 percent because of your customer’s hard times, you end up paying more for the gas in your holding tank and that means you charge the customer more. If you buy carrots for a supermarket, but buy less because your customers are buying less, you will not get the same bulk discount, the farmers will plant less, and so on. It is a vicious circle. Can we all make do with less? Sure, but — here’s the point — the factory needed to build 40 cars is the same size(cost) as one to make 100 cars. The holding tanks are one size, one truck fills them. Not everything can scale down. The delivery truck still costs as much to run per year, the driver still gets paid … but when the driver needs to pay 20 percent more for a loaf of bread, he’ll need more money to feed his family. Inflation.But what does not go down? Taxes on that plant making fewer cars, the cost of running a gas station, the operating expenses of a supermarket. So the markup on every item is greater. The customer pays more, and more and more.Inflation is as dirty a word as depression. Inflation punishes in the same way: People lose the ability to survive, to stay in their houses, to find a paying job. While the U.S. economic picture has seen overall drops in the rate of unemployment and only a modest rise in the staple prices of wheat and grain so far, Europe has seen some food prices rise by 33 percent this year. Already European unions, bankers, white-collar staff and civil servants have started negotiating pay raises, some asking 20 percent increases. Meanwhile, back in the United States, McDonald’s is predicting U.S. food prices will rise by only 4.5 percent (which is bad enough). That is not going to last, since cheap American grain is more desirable in Europe in 2011 and 2012 and, of course, we now have the Mississippi flooding and lost soybean and corn crops to contend with insofar as commodity prices are concerned.So what should we do? China saw the solution when their economic disaster struck in 2005-2008. They took the Japanese model to heart and spent, spent for all they were worth. Anyone reading this think China is a failing economy today? What has ravaged Japan decided on? Spend. What did Eisenhower do after World War II and the Korean War? Spend on national projects. Gee, I wonder if the later 1950s and early 1960s were good times? You bet they were, and we never went broke, either. Nor did the very rich. Sure, they were hurt for a while with higher taxes, but boom times for all acted as a rising raft for them as well. Trickle up economics.Perhaps Congress should try to evaluate what worked in Japan and China just recently and take the road less traveled, certainly less traveled than the European model currently in force, because inflation has definitely begun to rear its ugly head there already. In Italy there have been near-riots over the increases in pasta (26 percent) and bread (12 percent). The citizens of Greece, Portugal, France and Holland are also complaining. Since the country with the worst economic disaster was the United States in the mortgage crisis, since the United States spent trillions in stimulus money (and still wants to), and since the United States has the slowest inflation rate of any leading nation — can no one else see the folly in changing course and following the cut-back disaster plans which will, even by the most conservative think tanks, bring back inflation like an express train?If it were up to me, I’d swallow my pride and continue to do what the winners are already doing. Peter Riva, formerly of Amenia Union, lives in New Mexico.
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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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