Raymond F. McEnroe III
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The Souterrain Gallery in West Cornwall bustled with art lovers and artists on Nov. 28 for the opening of “Moon Zappa and Friends: A Multifaceted Exhibit.”
Moon Unit Zappa warmly greeted guests, mingling with visitors as they enjoyed refreshments and settled in to take in the exhibit.
In addition to showcasing work by several artists — including Zappa herself — the event doubled as a book signing, with copies of her memoir Earth to Moon available. Guests could also purchase blind gift boxes — holiday “mystery gifts” selected and wrapped by Zappa.
The show was curated by Zappa. When asked how she chose the artists she said, “I chose people that make my heart sing.” And also, “I wanted all ages to see it and enjoy it. I wanted kids to enjoy it too.
Zappa channels her zest for life with colorful and playful creatures set in their own stylistic world. One of her paintings features a wolf eel. “They are so unattractive, I thought I’d showcase them.” That aesthetic play is also apparent in her installation of fabric-wrapped bricks.
Among the featured artists is Kimmah Dennis, an artist-in-residence at the Silver Arts Project in New York City, who contributed several large-scale mixed-media paintings.
“I’m a material fanatic,” she explained.One painting was on the back of an old mirror on which she painted and scratched her images, as well as using canvas, paints, and bleach on some work to create textures, color, and patterns.A world traveler, she also puts different cultures into her work.
Diva Zappa, sister of Moon, displayed ethereal photographs.Aris Moore exhibited magical and intriguing creatures. Jett Ulysses had small images of flowers and fruit on black backgrounds. Melissa Sorrel offered mysterious depths of detail in her work. Paintings by Eileen Olivieri and Helen Midge Matessi Baudouin completed the works, making for an interesting mix.
Rowan Fields, who came to browse, said, “This show is really cool,” pointing to a constellation of five circular canvases by Dennis.
The show runs through Dec. 31 at the Souterrain Gallery (below the Wish House), at 413 Sharon Goshen Turnpike, West Cornwall.Hours are Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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‘American Stories’ art exhibit opens
Dec 03, 2025
Wendell Minor
Photo by L. Tomaino
CORNWALL — At the opening of Wendell Minor’s show at the Cornwall Library on Nov. 22, Stephanie Plunkett, chief curator of the Norman Rockwell Museum, introduced Minor as “an award-winning illustrator of over 50 years,” noting that he topped off his achievements by being inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame in 2023.
Minor explained, “For an illustrator, that’s like winning an Academy Award.”
The show, American Stories, curated by Plunkett, features a mix of work from Minor’s more than 2,000 book covers and 65 children’s books.
Minor described his beginnings in Aurora, Illinois, where his father was a factory worker. “He didn’t put much stock in me drawing. I didn’t listen to him.”
To finance his dream, Minor sold his car and went to Florida to study at the Ringling School of Art and Design, where he majored in illustration.
After graduating, he was recruited by Hallmark Cards. “My first work was fuzzy bunnies,” said Minor.
In 1968, he moved to New York City, where he worked for designer Paul Bacon for two years. Bacon was instrumental in his success.
“Before I knew it, I had enough work to keep me busy. I didn’t look up from my drawing board until now.”
At 83, Minor says, “Now I am back to painting for myself. I feel liberated.”
He spoke about working on Reaching for the Moon with astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Minor had written to Aldrin suggesting the idea of a children’s book. When they met, “I had to pinch myself. I was sitting having lunch with Buzz Aldrin!” Aldrin became a friend.
He also developed friendships while working with David McCullough and Jean Craighead George. He recalled going to Alaska with George and riding a dog sled. “It was like a Jack London adventure.”
In 1991, Minor and his wife, Florence, who died last year, moved to Washington, Conn. They collaborated on several books together, including Smitten with Kittens.
Reflecting on his life, Minor mused, “Funny how things come together. When you make a decision you have no idea where it will take you.” He added, “I’ve had an interesting life. I am very thankful.”
American Stories will be on display through Jan. 11 at the Cornwall Library, 30 Pine St. in Cornwall.
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CORNWALL — Residents gathered at the Cornwall Library on Thursday, Nov. 13, to offer ideas for renovating Foote Fields, a public park on Route 4 that will soon regain space currently occupied by the Little Guild.
Foote Fields, located on Furnace Brook Road, includes two soccer fields, a baseball field, a pavilion, a pickleball court, a parking area and storage shed.
For more than a year, the Little Guild has used a small area near the road as a temporary hub while its main facility has been under construction. With the animal shelter planning to vacate the site in winter 2026, town officials are looking ahead to how the property can be improved once the fields are fully available again.
Park and Recreation chair Michelle Shipp opened the forum with general information. She said getting approvals to install a permanent septic tank for bathrooms “is unlikely” and there are restrictions in place for adding buildings to the land. “There is a port-a-potty there,” she noted.
Shipp said an area near the pickleball court was leveled by the Little Guild and the location would be ideal for a dedicated basketball court. She said people have also suggested a playground, walking/running path, a foot bridge connecting Foote Fields to Jewell Street and additional parking.
Residents in attendance proposed more ideas, which included modifying the baseball field to Little League dimensions, putting a fence around the pickleball court, adding a pool, ice rink, skate park, climbing wall, swings, wi-fi and community gardens.
Barbecue stations were suggested, but Shipp noted there is no trash collection presently.
Cynthia Foote was in attendance. Her family donated the property to the town. She suggested better signage. “I want to see ‘Foote Fields’ somewhere,” she said.
Shipp said the next step is to organize the suggestions into a plan and present it to the Board of Selectman. She also asked those willing to support the effort to indicate how they can help, be it their time, money or skills.
“It’s a beautiful spot and it has so much potential,” said Shipp, who can be reached at park.recreation@cornwallct.gov.
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Hunt Library director Meg Sher, left, and Linda Ciaro of Project SAGE before delivering a presentation on online safety for youth.
Patrick L.sullivan
FALLS VILLAGE — Maintaining online safety for young people in northwest Connecticut requires an understanding of the dangers of being online and the willingness to plan ahead for when – not if – a bad situation arises.
That was the message from Project Sage’s Linda Ciano, who spoke at the David M. Hunt Library Thursday evening, Nov. 20, in Falls Village, part of an ongoing effort to educate families about online safety across the Northwest Corner.
The talk drew parents and educators from several Region One towns – communities where many residents rely heavily on digital communication to stay connected.
Ciano said cyberbullying can occur on any online device and in any format - social media, text message, etc. This distinguishes cyberbullying from its real-life counterpart.. “Cyberbullying follows the victim into the home.”
Over half of children between the ages of 14 and 17 report some experience with cyberbullying, and it is about evenly split between girls and boys.
Victims can become antisocial, develop substance abuse problems, and express suicidal ideation.
And while young people grow up and move past any bullying in real life, cyberbullying is what Ciano calls a “repetitive harm.”
“It’s up there forever.”
Online predators
Victims of cyberbullying usually know their attackers. However, this is not the case for those children who are lured into compromising situations by online predators.
Ciano showed a slide showing a plain white van, puppies and candy.
She explained that these are the images associated with predators, and that children are taught from an early age to be wary of the man in the white van with the puppies etc.
“But the internet brings strangers into the home all the time.”
Even in small Northwest Corner towns, where families often assume they know their neighbors, online spaces create risks that feel far removed from semi-rural life.
Online predators and groomers often follow a script, and gradually increase the level of intimacy with their victims.
Ciano said that teenagers don’t think of online strangers the same way they think of the “man in the van.”
Often youngsters will be gradually convinced to send their new online “friends” nude photos or videos.
The predator then threatens to make the images public unless the victim sends more, or demands money to not post them.
The advent of artificial intelligence makes all of this more complicated, because AI can create a convincing nude image of someone with nothing but a photo of someone’s face.
Ciano said the key to dealing with these online threats is to recognize the likelihood that something bad will occur, and to be ready for it.
Online safety
Everyone should practice basic online safety, including setting everything to “private,” turning off location tools, and only following people they know in real life on social media.
Beyond that, Ciano said a good practice is to advise young people not to send nude photos of themselves to anybody.
“If the person in the photo is underage then it is child pornography,” she said flatly, adding that anyone who sends it along or has it downloaded on a device is going to be in big trouble if it is discovered.
Parents and children can create a family agreement on how to proceed in the event of a cyber “accident.”
To manage the situation, Ciano recommends the following actions for children:
1) Stop responding. Some predators will give up and seek easier prey.
2) Preserve evidence. Ciano said the urge is to delete everything, but it is important to preserve records of the encounters using screenshots, external drives, and printing out hard copies.
3) Call in your team – the group of trusted adults that the children and parents identified in their safety plan.
The adults need to:
1) Believe the child.
2) Validate the child’s experience and show empathy
3) Provide support
4) Report the predatory activity to the appropriate authorities.
Ciano said the federal Take It Down Act went into effect in May.
The legislation makes it a federal crime to distribute intimate images of people without their permission — including authentic images and images created by artificial intelligence.
The law also establishes a process for filing a request to remove images within 48 hours, and creates a national standard and mechanism where none existed.
Ciano said that Project SAGE is now in its fourth year of talking to Region One students in grades 6 through 12 about online safety.
She said today’s seniors are far more aware of online safety issues than their counterparts from four years ago, and she expects this to continue to improve.
“This is a seven year conversation.”
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