SALISBURY — Pining for a Purple Calabash? Have a hankering for Henderson’s Red Ponderosa? Eyeing the Earl of Edgecombe for your garden?If you have even the slightest idea what this means, you are probably a tomato enthusiast, like Lawrence Davis-Hollander, who spoke about The Extravagant Heirloom Tomato at the Scoville Memorial Library on Saturday, March 22.Davis-Hollander, whose duties as a volunteer at the library include scheduling events such as this talk, introduced himself, noting his studies in ethnobotany at Harvard University, his founding of the Eastern Native Seed Conservancy and the business he runs with Leslie Watkins, Dandelion Gardening Arts.Then he put his hat on and assumed his “plant whisperer” persona.Davis-Hollander said there are three types of heirloom tomato: the historic, the family and the mystery tomato.The historic has a written history of its origins. The family tomato “was brought from somewhere.”And the mystery tomato is just what it sounds like.All heirloom tomatoes are open-pollinated, he continued, but not all open-pollinated tomatoes are heirlooms.At one point he was asked where he drew the line between heirloom tomatoes and others. “It keeps shifting, but around World War II,” he said. “Unfortunately no one is governing the heirloom tomato world, like dog breeding.”Davis-Hollander kept a steady stream of photographs going, of every imaginable variety of tomato.There were some so-called black tomatoes, from Russia. These are often purpleThere was the above-mentioned Purple Calabash. “This may well be 500 years old.”The Indian Moon, of southwestern U.S. origin and his favorite orange tomato.Or Dr. Wyche’s Yellow Tomato, which makes an excellent light sauce for fish.And Aunt Ruby’s German Green Tomato, which is green when ripe.“It doesn’t cook well,” he warned. “It looks like army camouflage when done.”What should people do with their tomatoes?Slice them up and eat them — with mayonnaise, balsamic vinegar, salt.Or rub tomatoes on bread — then grill the bread and serve with prosciutto or sardines.Or make sauce, of course.As far as growing tips, Davis-Hollander suggested building an expensive greenhouse. He showed a photo of what appeared to be a tomato tree, growing inside, and laden with fruit.“I don’t even know if this is a real picture,” said Davis-Hollander.He acknowledged that building a greenhouse is probably not a viable option for most people, and more’s the pity.“I’ll tell you, put heirlooms in a greenhouse and stop watering them in August — they get really good.”What tomatoes need is lots of light, air and space, he continued.He said gardeners tend to crowd their tomato-growing space.A good source of fertilizer is crucial. Cow manure is excellent, although the horse and sheep versions are also good.He said that commercial compost is fine for perennials and shrubs and as a general use soil conditioner, but lacks the nutrients needed for successful tomato growing.He advised testing the soil, and said that plastic can be very good for keeping the soil warm.And don’t be afraid to experiment.“It’s always a little seat-of-the-pants in gardening.”
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Quiet back roads, hidden woodland trails and rolling fields are just part of what makes autumn so brilliant. Golden, amber and crimson leaves blanket the communities we call home, turning even the most familiar places into something special.
Take a look at some of the snapshots that capture the best of autumn in our communities.
Sharon, CTBill Wakeley
Mill Pond, Sheffield MADeb Segalla-Watson
New Marlborough, MAWendy Miller
Peter Austin
Falls Village, CTPete Sanders
Tom Carley
Factory Pond, Lakeville CTBarbara Peck
Lime Rock Road, Lakeville CTKeary Hanan
Lime Rock Road, Lakeville CTJake Marcum
Housatonic River, Sharon, CTBill Wakeley
Norfolk, CTTom Carley
Reed Brook, Deans Ravine, Canaan CTBill Wakeley
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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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