MILLERTON — American Legion Auxiliary Unit 178 in Millerton is raising money to sponsor a service dog for a war veteran. The organization they’re working with, Puppies Behind Bars (PBB), was founded by a resident of the Northwest Corner: Gloria Gilbert Stoga.When Puppies Behind Bars first started, its mission was to train puppies as guide dogs for the blind. After the terrorist attacks in 2001, they also started training dogs as Explosive Detection Canines (EDC). In 2006 they launched a new program called Dog Tags: Service Dogs for Those Who’ve Served Us. It is specifically for veterans of the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or who’ve had a traumatic brain injury or other debilitating physical injury.Molly Jenks, first vice president of the Millerton auxiliary, said the organization chose to sponsor a dog as a project for their junior members and the community but also “to raise awareness about the plight of returning vets.“The stories of what these dogs can do to help a veteran with PTSD are just incredible,” she added.Service dogs in the Dog Tags program are trained very differently from guide dogs for the blind or other service dogs, such as search-and-rescue or therapy dogs. They all must learn the standard service dog commands such as come, sit, stay and down. And they all must be socialized. But a dog in the Dog Tags program will learn more than 80 commands. Just a few of the tasks they are expected to master are to turn on lights; open doors (including the refrigerator); distinguish between objects and bring the requested item; remind their veteran to take medications; and warn them of an approaching stranger.Long before they get to that level of training, the service dog will start its working life as an eight-week-old puppy living with an inmate at one of six correctional facilities in New York, Connecticut or New Jersey.Puppies Behind Bars purchases the puppies outright from a list of reputable breeders. Not all puppies are suited for a life as a service dog. At the end of their 18 months as a puppy behind bars, they are evaluated. Some dogs develop health issues, making them unsuitable. They must be healthy and free of any disabilities, including allergies and hip dysplasia.Gilbert Stoga was working in New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s office when she decided to start the Puppies Behind Bars program. She credits her inspiration for PBB to Dr. Thomas Lane, a Florida-based veterinarian who, every day on his way to work, passed the state prison in Gainesville. He saw the inmates standing around and thought they could be doing something productive and useful. He worked with the prison to start inmates training canines as guide dogs.Gilbert Stoga read an article about the program he had developed, and went to see him and study his methods. The program benefits both the inmate and the veteran. Working with inmates confined to medium- and maximum-security prisons, because they generally have longer terms of incarceration, the program is designed to contribute to the inmates’ social rehabilitation. An inmate must meet fairly strict criteria before they’re welcomed into the PBB program. The puppy then comes to live in the inmate’s cell and goes everywhere he or she goes within the prison community.And the inmate must be committed to training the dog.Gilbert Stoga said, “I am constantly bringing in articles about the soldiers that describe what they’re going through. We want the inmate/trainer to understand why we give the commands and how they will be used. “They have to take quizzes, and tests on a regular basis and read a lot of books. We give them homework. “Sometimes the puppy isn’t cut out for the work; and sometimes the inmate isn’t either.“We don’t consider the inmate to be a trained trainer until they’ve graduated one puppy. But we want them to learn and work with multiple dogs.”PPB also pays for correspondence courses for the inmates in veterinary assistance, animal grooming and training, so that when they are ready to be paroled they will have some real life-skills they can take with them.Just as the inmates are carefully screened before they are entrusted with a puppy, the veterans are also carefully screened before they receive a service dog. “A dog can be a complication,” Gilbert Stoga said. “It is not a magic wand. It’s a tool. If they can’t take care of themselves, then they won’t be able to take care of a dog.”In addition to the requirements regarding the war and the disability, they also must be in a stable living situation, be free of any drug or alcohol addiction for at least a year, be able to afford the cost of maintaining the dog, not have more than one dog already in the home and — most importantly — be committed to keeping up with the dog’s training.When they are first matched with a dog, they will spend two weeks at an on-site training facility, to get acquainted with the dog and learn how to communicate with it. After that, PBB has frequent check-ins to make sure that everything is going OK. Eventually those visits are reduced to an annual check-in.The organization has an enormous amount at stake in making sure that the match is a good one at every step of the way. A service dog will cost PBB, on average, $26,000 during its lifetime.So far, 39 dogs have graduated and been placed into service and PBB has 85 puppies in training. Since all of PBB fundraising is private, it is helpful when organizations such as the American Legion Auxiliary Unit in Millerton and private individuals sponsor a dog.To contribute to the auxiliary unit’s sponsorship, contact Molly Jenks at 518-789-6738 or send a check to the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 178, PO Box 22, Millerton, NY 12546. To contact Puppies Behind Bars go to www.puppiesbehindbars.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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