Women’s Exhibit at Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts May 6 - June 17

Torrent Of Flor

By Donna Veeder

militia that fought at the Battle of Oriskany with him. We typically do that the weekend following August 6th,” he said.

For more information, visit https://parks.ny.gov/ historic-sites/14/details. aspx.

Eight young women artists of the Mohawk Valley Region have spun for us their beautiful and unusual artwork stories in glorious colors as they visualize this title. We are used to spring torrents around here, both in winds and waters, experiencing everything from soft, warm breezes to wild snowy gales to roaring surprise floods. Using colors and emotions, warm and cool, as our Northern springs seem to deliver us, these young women will share their recent creations. Their group exhibition, Torrent of Flor, opens at The Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts, on May 6, 2023, from 12:00 to 4:00 PM at 401-403 So Ann St., Little Falls, NY, 13365. Katrina Cheney, Gabrielle Huther, Michele Johnsen, Carly Proulx, Lisa Rohacek, Kayla Spivey, Alexandra Tamburro, and Melody Valdivia have all been creating art for some years now. You might have seen their work in various other exhibitions. However, this exhibition is the first to present their work as a specially invited group. We will see animals, flowers, roaring waters, figures, photographs, interiors, landscapes and some exciting three- dimensional creations. These works are full of emotion. They are each artist’s own personal interpretation of the title. Color and the lift it gives to us abounds!

Moving through the group alphabetically, we touch on some of the works. Katrina Cheney’s tall rectangular depictions of nature use both painted and attached wild plants she has collected from her surroundings to bring a feeling of new growth to our attention. They are both abstraction and reality combined. Gabrielle Huther presents large, free, bright, and joyous abstracts called Desert Rose that lift our spirits. Their light seems to radiate from within. Michele Johnsen takes us on a totally different path. She turns her lifelong pursuit of collecting driftwood into colorful, sassy, strutting creatures: birds covered in beads, grasses, and feathers. She weaves in many textures and colors of other found materials. Carly Proulx paints our Mohawk River in a wild spring flood, flashing by us below her window. Yet she also gives us darker, brooding figures whose thoughts we cannot quite fathom. Lisa Rohacek displays a beautiful golden-yellow trout lily beneath spectacular, roiling sunset skies of grays, rose, and soft blues. Her giant nest gives a close-up of baby birds guarded by their mother’s watchful eye. Kayla Spivey presents sleek, modern, floral ceramic serving dishes delicately painted for the feasting of our eyes as well as the feasting of our bellies. Alexandra Tamburro’s large photographs bend sunflowers toward us or away from us. Her pink Spanish creeper vines wind themselves around static machines, beautifying the neighborhood. Melody Valdivia’s woman with bright red hair leans forward to dry her hair in the warming sun’s rays. Two horses greet one another in warming colors, nose to nose in their newfound freedom from the dark winter barn. This unusual exhibition of the works of nearby women artists is one you’ll surely want to see and enjoy. It is a Spring Tonic.

May 11 and 25 August 10 and 24

June 8and 22 September 14 and 28

July and 27

The exhibition will have its Opening Reception at Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts 401-403 So. Ann St. in Little Falls, NY, on Saturday, May 6, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. This event is free and open to the public. One other event will occur at The MVCA during the tenure of this exhibition. On Saturday May 20, there will be a special free Wine Tasting Event featuring Women-owned wineries. (Wine served to adults only.) Artists will be present for a meet and greet. Regular gallery hours are ThursSat, 12:00 to 4:00, or by appointment. Call: 315823-0808. The exhibition ends on June 17.

A Memorial Day Reminder

By Ray Lenarcic

Battling sub-zero temperatures and an enemy outnumbering them 20 plus to one, they managed to survive the Battle of Chosin Reservoir despite taking some 15,000 casualties. At the Imjin River and Kapyong, they blunted an offensive by 700,000 Chinese. They distinguished themselves at battles whose names have become iconicHeartbreak Ridge-Old Baldy-Porkchop Hill. They are the Marines and Army infantrymen whose incredible valor in the face of often overwhelming odds prevented a Communist takeover of South Korea.

The price paid with American blood for the preservation of the small democratic state was substantial; 36,940 deaths; 92,134 wounded; 3,737 MIAs. The enemy losses numbered an estimated half million troops. While many local communities suffered losses, one, in particular, was hard hit. My hometown Little Falls. Our city of less than c. 9,000 lost five men: Clifton Avery, Walter Bobak, William Grogan, Thomas Ochar, and Milan Mosny.

The latter’s death was particularly poignant to my friends and me because his brother, Danny, was a classmate. The six Mosny brothers were an institution in the community not only for their prowess on the basketball court but for their values, citizenship, and scholarship. While I didn’t know Milan personally, along with everyone else growing up in the late ’40s and ’50s, I knew of him. Milan Mosny might have been the finest role model ever to graduate from the “purple and white.”

At the end of an exemplary high school career replete with numerous accomplishments (athletic and extracurricular), Milan gave his valedictory address and headed to West Point to join the Class of ’49. There, his record was no less stellar; high scorer of the A-Squad hoopsters, letterman in baseball and cross country, upper-third in his class, Modern Language prize winner in French, etc. He went on to earn his wings as an F86D fighter pilot, honing his skills to the extent that, in the words of his commanding officer, “Mo was one of the most promising officers I have known. His Academy background and his flying ability were great assets, but secondary to the man he was.”

According to those in the know, the sky was the limit as far as his future was concerned. Ironically, it was in the sky that the life of this exceptional young man was ended. On January 6, 1955, in Japan, during a night intercept training exercise, Milan and his co-pilot were killed in a mid-air collision with another jet.

It seems that memories of the Captain and four other men previously mentioned faded with the passing years until they were known only by a handful of residents. This phenomenon is commonplace. It’s not that people don’t care about those who were lost during our many wars; it’s that they haven’t been reminded not to forget. On May 12th, the people of Little Falls were reminded thanks to several high school students who conducted a food drive while wearing t-shirts with the names Avery, Bobak, Grogan, Ochar, and Mosny prominently displayed. They collected nearly 1500 items of food and $168 for the local pantry. Along with their peers from Mohawk and Frankfort who conducted similar drives (honored Marine Cpl. David Mills and SSgt. John LaPolla, respectively-both, KIA in Vietnam), the students introduced another dimension regarding how Memorial Day can be observed. We can honor our heroes by doing something in their memories to improve the quality of life of their hometowns.

Earlier, I wrote that Milan Mosny would make a great role model. I mean, what parents wouldn’t want their children to possess his attributes; integrity-strong work ethic-responsibiltyrespectfulnesscompassion-humilitypatriotic. That said, might I suggest that any of us looking for role models need look no further than our own communities; their names are etched in stone on the memorials, which remain lasting testimonies to their indomitable spirit, their unimpeachable character, and their willingness to give their all for their country.

God bless and keep them always.

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