MILLBROOK — Speeding is an ongoing dilemma in the village of Millbrook, one Village Board members are constantly working to solve. At the Tuesday, March 13, Village Board meeting, Trustee Mike Herzog presented a complaint from a resident whose car was recently clipped by a tanker truck. Herzog said the resident was upset the tanker truck had been speeding down the street and wanted to know what the Village Board would do about the problem.“I informed him that it was a state road, and that unfortunately we did not have the jurisdiction over enforcing the speed limit [there],” said Herzog. “But it is something we may want to consider, looking at other things we could do as a village, even though it’s not our road, that could evade some of the problems with the tanker trucks coming through town and causing problems in terms of the narrow street.”Mayor Laura Hurley said the village is not able to interfere with interstate commerce, which is the reason why it can’t prohibit trucks from coming through the center of the village. Board members had ideas on how to use radars to perhaps slow down speeding truck drivers, however they agreed there are no safe areas for law enforcement to pull over speeding tractor trailer trucks in the village.Some present at last week’s meeting said there is now a lot less traffic going through the village than there used to be due to measures taken to reduce speeding traffic, which many are concerned is detrimental to business. The fear is that even fewer people will travel through the village and stop at local businesses if further speed traps are set, or just to avoid speeding and dangerous traffic.But speeding causes other problems for businesses and residents besides its immediate impact on scaring away drivers from the village proper. It also creates a noisy environment.“Speeding vehicles create incredible noise pollution,” said Lorraine Alexander, owner of the Millbrook Country House. “The noise pollution is a big thing. I think people from the village suffer from it and we are in the village not even in the commercial center and we suffer from it, too.”Hurley said that she has lived on Franklin Avenue and the noise at night from trucks stopping at the light and making their way up the hill is disturbing. The trucks are recommended to stay on Route 44 and not cut through the village, however Franklin Avenue continues to be used as a short cut for truck drivers. A member of the public asked that the village increase police patrol, as the truck traffic can be dangerous. Trustee Edward Cox said when dealing with truck drivers there are laws in place drivers should remember.“What you have to keep in mind is there are laws that exist,” said Cox. “You can’t make up new laws. I agree that nobody should be speeding. But you can’t target a particular class of people.”Cox said that police can’t camp out and only target truck drivers. There are six locations throughout Millbrook that village police focus their coverage on, including Millbrook High School, Route 44A, Route 82, Franklin Avenue and by the Tribute Gardens. Hurley said the village police run 55 hours of patrolling a week and do the best possible job they can with the resources they have.“We can still issue tickets on state roads, and we would hope the troopers would help us out, which they do when they are out and about sometimes,” she said. “But I am going to throw this other perspective out. It’s all in how you perceive it when we start fanning out extra speeding and parking tickets; we get complaints from the business people that we are being unfriendly for business because we are handing out too many tickets.”Village Highway Superintendent Bob Collocola said many times the people who are speeding through the village are the residents themselves. Alexander suggested the village place a mobile speed limit radar to encourage drivers to slow down without having law enforcement pull them over. Village Attorney Rebecca Valk said the village is allowed to place speed limit radars on village roads, however the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) must be involved if those radars are placed on state roads.“I will talk to former deputy mayor Stan Morse, who has a contact with NYSDOT, and pick his brain about how to get those signs in place and what the benefit would be,” said Hurley. “The traffic is less but the speed is worse. I think these are all relevant points and questions and I think it’s important we keep having a discussion about it. I will follow up with the NYSDOT and the troopers.”
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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.
L. Tomaino
“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.
Provided
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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