Rich DiCarlo, President
Richard has been creating art for as long as he can remember. By age six he painted his first still life watercolor (which he still has). He is a graduate of the prestigious School of Visual Arts in New York City with a BFA in Fine Arts. Since 1984, Richard has been creating under the pen name "Chid". Richard has an extensive background in illustration and graphic design and on occassion performs the unusual task of "Ghost Illustrator" for several series of children's publications. His clientelle include Bristol Meyer Squibb, WCBS NewsRadio 88, Scholastic Books, Harcourt Brace and The Cable Television Industry's Broadband Library. Richard has served as the Chairman of the Cartoonists Discipline of the Graphic Artists Guild, a national organization that maintains and protects the economic and ethical rights of Graphic Artists. He is the creator of "Urban Fossils", handcrafted brick sculptures he has been hammering out since 1989 and continues to sell through many venues in Connecticut and New York. This year, he looks forward to selling his 1300th Sculpture. Richard met his wife Wendy while creating backdrops for local theatrical groups in New York. Richard is now writing and illustrating his own children's books and looks forward to being published. He and Wendy reside in Derby with their two children Alexandra and Maxwell, along with two dogs, three cats and a guinea pig named Squeaky.
 email: studiochid@sbcglobal.net
Jill Nichols, Vice President
Jill Harrington Nichols is a native of Fairfield, Connecticut. An award winning artist, she has the ability to capture light that result in paintings rich in mood and emotion. Jill is best known for her paintings that depict the beauty and charm of Connecticut. View her work at Currently, Jill works in oil paint and pastels. Favorite subjects include seascapes, landscapes, florals and still life studies. She has mastered her sense of design, color and composition over a course of 30 years as a commercial artist. Her fine art training includes the Art Student League in New York City, Silvermine Guild in New Canaan, Old Lyme Academy and Gallery 53 in Connecticut, under such noted artists as Charles Reid, Richard Pionk, Bruce Raven, and Jerry Weiss. Jill also teaches painting at the Shelton Community Center. For information call 203 331 4120.
Leslie Adams, Secretary/Treasurer
Leslie is currently serving as the Secretary/Treasurer of the Valley Arts Council. Her involvement with VAC began as a way to nuture her own art career and has evolved into a devotion to promoting artists of all levels within the Greater Valley area. Having sold her first piece of artwork through the Valley Arts Council recently, Leslie looks forward to enjoying a lifetime of new success, believing that service and reward go hand in hand. Her acrylic paintings capture everyday objects in calm settings, creating works of art that soothe the viewer. Her work can be seen throughout the Valley.
email: leslieaadams@sbcglobal.net
Arthur Bogen, President Emiritus
Arthur brings 20 years of marketing, finance and administration experience to the Valley Arts Council. He has served as President of the Valley Arts Council for many years and will remain on the Board of Directors as President Emiritus. He operates an independant consulting company arranging for grant and loan funding. He is an experienced facilitator for community relations and educational outreach in Brownfield's Project Implementation.
Jack A. Lardis
Jack is a graduate of the University of Michigan in Fine Arts,
having done numerous solo exhibits, group exhibits and juried
exhibits, receiving numerous wards. Jack has been a creative
director utilizing his retail, fashion, consumer and business
experience. His agency has created award winning advertising
and promotions for the beverage, insurance, and sports industries.
Jack is also an exhibiting painter.
Gregory Karas
Born in Milford, Gregory Karas spent much of his youth outdoors, hiking, fishing and exploring local wetlands. The deep love and respect for the natural world that he developed during those years remains with him today, and often finds expression in his choice of subject matter.
Early on, he discovered a talent for pastel portraiture and began accepting commissions to sketch people and pets. This natural ability led him to study at Paier College of Art.
Karas began painting "en plein air" (outdoors) and finds it exciting. The Naugatuck Valley, including the Housatonic River and surrounding towns, often provide the subject matter for his work: from barns and old mills, to prized farm animals, to floral studies. His current project is a solo show of paintings and photographs about Colony Pond to coincide with the rededication of Abe Stone Park (Ansonia) in 2006.
His work has been exhibited at the Kellogg Environmental Center, Westport Nature Center and Mount Carmel Art Association. He has won numerous First Place and "Best in Show" awards.
Gregory recently completed painting a heart sculpture which Atnea chose to sponsor for the Danbury Hospital. The painting depicts fruits and vegetables, so vital for a healthy heart, floating in the air on a "picture-perfect" day. The style of this painting is very much in keeping with the attention to detail and realism of his other works.
Karas teaches at the Bob Boroski School of Art, in addition to working in the prepress industry, scanning and color correcting many of the images we see in magazines, advertisements, and books. He lives in Ansonia with his wife and two daughters.
email:greg.karas@sbcglobal.net
Judy Cuddihee
Judy Cuddihee is an artist who makes fine art, wearables, and home furnishings emphasizing the male sexual experience. Born and raised in Connecticut with eight brothers and four fathers, then spending two thirds of her life joyously married to yet another man, it's easy to see why she is preoccupied with them. Judy has a degree in Psychology and a BS in Computer Science. All of her serious art education continues to be self-inflicted. Her work has appeared in galleries and museums across the country and is in numerous private collections. Currently Ms. Cuddihee is accepting limited commission work as it relates to her vision and a six-month lead-time is estimated.
Please contact her directly at c121253@yahoo.com for orders and inquiries.
http://www.JudyCuddihee.com
http://www.fiberrevolution.com.
Len Grayek
Born in New Haven and raised in Stratford, a Valley resident since 2002, Len has lived in Ansonia, Beacon Falls, and currently resides in Shelton. He spent a good part of his adolescence drawing all kinds of things, from floor plans to houses, diagrams of jet fighters, bridges, as well as caricatures of his high school teachers (the notebook was confiscated junior year). All those years spent drawing and sketching were groundwork for what lay ahead. Painting was stumbled upon by happenstance. In August 1989 he picked up the paintbrush and hasn’t looked back since. His medium of choice is acrylic, and is known for my use of vibrant color. His current focus is on landscapes and portraits. You can see examples of his work at http://www.myspace.com/len_the_artist
email: lengrayeck@hotmail.com
Anthony Stachelczyk
Anthony Stachelczyk is an Oxford resident specializing in portraits rendered in graphite and silverpoint. He works in a variety of media including oil pigments and egg tempura. Decorative woodcut prints are also among his specialties. A lifelong resident of Connecticut, Tony receives much of his inspiration from the local beauty of his New England town. He can be found most days and many long nights at "The Barn". The quintessential big red barn, surrounded by pine and black walnut trees, located steps from his home, acts as his studio and retreat. Tony's portraits are commissioned and in private collections but you may see much of his work through exhibits of the Valley Arts Council or pay him a visit at "The Barn".
Anthony joined the Valley Arts Council for a number of reasons, primarily to get to know other artists in the area and take advantage of local exhibitions sponsored by the council. "I think it is important to promote the work of local artists and make people aware of the abundance of talent in their own "backyard". Through the council, I have learned about new sources and venues for exhibiting work."
email: astachelczyk@snet.net
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
