Apr 23

Possibility In Objects

Gioia Fonda transforms gutter garbage into art

By Stephanie Rodriguez on 4-22-2010

Ordinary hurricane fence morphs into happy orange flowers, familiar green baskets that once held strawberries transform into whimsical city skylines and forks found abandoned in Sacramento’s gutters glisten brightly. These are Sacramento City College assistant art professor Gioia Fonda’s recycled treasures. And her art. “I feel that people aren’t being as creative as they could be with their trash,” Fonda says. “There are possibilities in objects. A lot of things could be repurposed.”

Sacramento City College professor Gioia Fonda snuggles to one of her quilts, some of which are made with repurposed plastic bags.

Fonda’s den of creativity once filled a large space in Verge Gallery and Studio Project at 19th and V streets, but now is awaiting construction of walls before its move into a new location downtown near S and Seventh streets. Her studio brims with random objects found during her daily bicycle commute. While seated at her workstation, Fonda appears wholly comfortable surrounded by a world of recycled bliss.

On the ground, a white ceramic owl anticipates a fresh coat of paint. Boxes labeled “froo-froo fluff” and “Valentine crap” rest neatly on shelves. Hand-painted sheets of construction paper wadded into balls, then pierced with string, hang over a doorway. There’s more: A patch of cotton-candy-pink fur is pinned to one wall. A tin caboodle chock-full of gel pens beckons even the most artistically challenged. A small table bears an assortment of dull and bent silverware. A tiny pile of snipped paper bits lay interwoven on her desk.

Scanning the entire room, Fonda jumps up and grabs an object she proudly presents as a “weed tiara.” “Everything looks better with spray paint,” Fonda says, matter of factly, while holding what appears to be a chunk of flattened tumbleweed. “One day, I just decided to spray-paint it pink and then, another day, I decided to glue a little sequin on the tip of every [branch].”

A simple weed, flattened by numerous cars and blown into the gutter in front of her art studio, now sparkles with new purpose. “When things are cheap, I’m more likely to take a risk and try something new than if I spend a lot of money on art supplies,” explains the blond 36-year-old of her attraction to found art and collage. She says that her family always looked at things “a little differently.” “For me, it’s second nature.”

She points out a deity sitting on a shelf lined with orange lace, safely surrounded by an old picture frame, silently surveying the studio. An artificial-grass fan is attached to the deity’s back, forming a green aura, while an old ink pen and pair of scissors stand guard at its sides. Multicolored paint chips, scraped from Fonda’s palette, lay as an offering at the deity’s feet.

“[My mom] thought it would be funny to give me this little goddess, my ‘studio goddess,’” Fonda says, smiling. Her mother, Chloe Fonda, is also an artist. “Most of the paintbrushes I have were hers when she was in school. She kept good care of them, and I take OK care of them, and they are still usable 50 years later. “I think there’s a sense that you should use things and take care of them for as long as you can.”

Students in Fonda’s collage-and-assemblage classes quickly learn this lesson, too, and items such as an ordinary gum wrapper, lying in a crumpled-up ball on the ground, becomes their art. Fonda’s intention is to show students that they can save money by visiting thrift stores or by simply taking a second look at, say, the plastic bag bread comes in. “My motivation isn’t always saving the Earth, although that’d be nice,” Fonda admits. “[But] everything could be useful somehow. It could be turned into something.”

Fonda’s passion for recycled collage and assemblage has produced notable projects. “Gioia is one resourceful woman,” says Sacramento City College’s art department chairwoman Emily Wilson. “A piece that comes to mind is a quilt she made entirely out of used plastic shopping bags. She created a piece of artwork with intricate pattern and vivid color made entirely out of what most of us would consider trash.”

Fonda started collecting plastic bags from different bodegas around Brooklyn during her studies at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She saved them by making a book of plastic pages. Two years later, they reappeared as the quilt. “When I use plastic bags, I can kind of experiment, and it’s freeing to me,” Fonda says while unfolding her plastic masterpiece, which rustles softly. Certain squares of the quilt are very familiar: the swirly “S” of Safeway, red Target circles, even the intense yellow of a Sacramento City College bookstore bag. “I was just thinking I had so many plastic bags, and they were such beautiful colors … what could come of it?”

Fonda says that her fear of driving is the reason she commutes by bike, but that pedaling through Sacramento puts her at the street level, which makes it easier to find objects for future art projects. “I used to go on walks with a friend [and] her dog, and she would be laughing at me for how many times I bent down to pick things up,” Fonda says. “My pockets would be full by the end of the walk.”

Fonda, who has also participated in state fair competitions for recycled art, feels everyone is capable of repurposing an object, but everyone should also push the aesthetic potential a little more. “If somebody wants to start out, just look around,” she advises, thinking. “Like all those AOL discs that come in the mail all the time. We gotta think of a project for those!”

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May 08

Souderton preps for Battle of the Bands

The Reporter – May 8, 2009

Get ready for the Big Red Band to host another Battle.

2008 Fox 29 - Phillies World Series Celebration - Citizens Bank Park

2008 Fox 29 - Phillies World Series Celebration - Citizens Bank Park

That’s right, the Big Red Band Boosters of the Souderton Area School District sponsor a “Battle of the Bands” this Saturday.

“We’re having five acts play from the high school, and one special guest: a professional band from Lancaster called ‘Kingsfoil’,” said band coach Matt Fonda, who’s also a guitarist for The Classic.

The five local bands are called Armory Infirmary, Killing Helen, Mary Rush, Mac’s No. 13, and End_Scene.exe.

Each band will feature at least one member currently enrolled at Souderton Area High School, and each will perform for approximately 20 minutes, Fonda said.

The doors to the Souderton Area High School’s auditorium will open at 6:30 p.m. for the Battle, and music provided by the five amateur bands will begin at 7 p.m.

“All of the proceeds will either go towards the rewards: there’s a $50 prize for the first place band and $25 for the second and third, and the rest is going towards the music program,” Fonda said.

Tickets are $5 each and refreshments will be available for purchase.

For more information on the Big Red Band Boosters, visit http://www.soudertonbigred.org

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Apr 27

Fonda couple leaves strong legacy

Gazette Reporter, April 27, 2008

Wemples set up scholarships

– This year’s high school graduation at the Fonda-Fultonville school district will mark the start of a unique legacy left by a village couple known for hard work and community service. About a dozen students unlikely to afford college on their will have opportunity to continue their studies with free tuition with a new scholarship named after its donors, William Barent Wemple and Elizabeth Ashley Burton Wemple. School officials have said the gift of $1.83 million is remarkable in its size alone.

W. Barent Wemple and Ashley Burton Wemple left a $1.8 million bequest for scholarships for Fonda-Fultonville school graduates. Copy photograph from his obituary dated Aug. 24,1978 from the Mohawk Valley Democrat.

W. Barent Wemple and Ashley Burton Wemple left a $1.8 million bequest for scholarships for Fonda-Fultonville school graduates. Copy photograph from his obituary dated Aug. 24,1978 from the Mohawk Valley Democrat.

The Wemples stipulated in their will that the scholarship would be active once their heirs were dead; school officials learned about it last fall following the death of the Wemples’ son, Frank Wemple, in 2006. But some who knew the prominent, upper-class family are not surprised that the donation, spelled out in the Wemples’ last will and testament, went unheralded for more than 30 years. “Today , people seem to be more interested in saying they did something,” said Rose Aversa, who grew up next door to the Wemples on Montgomery Terrace in Fonda. “The old way was you don’t talk about what you do. You just do it.”

Aversa, now 79, was one of many in the community who witnessed the generosity of Elizabeth Ashley Burton Wemple and the work ethic of her husband, W. Barent Wemple. She said W. Barent Wemple spent much of his time working, while his wife arranged household affairs and was constantly involved in community service work. Many of Ashley Wemple’s acts went unnoticed, Aversa said, except the fact that she allowed all the neighborhood children to play in their yard on Montgomery Terrace. “She was really gracious,” Aversa said.

community leader

According to his obituary, W. Barent Wemple, born on Nov. 30, 1895, was a descendant of one the earliest Dutch families in the Mohawk Valley. His ancestor Jan B. Wemple, who arrived in America in 1640, was one of 15 founders of Schenectady. His name is among those found on the bronze tablet in the First Dutch Reformed Church in Schenectady’s Stockade. W. Barent Wemple went to school at the Albany Boys Academy, lived in New York City, and moved to Fonda when his father, William Barent Wemple, bought the Fonda-based Mohawk Valley Democrat newspaper.

W. Barent Wemple graduated in the Fonda High School class of 1913, went to Union College and graduated in 1917, according to his obituary, published in the Mohawk Valley Democrat, the paper he ultimately took over as its publisher. He served as secretary of the Mohawk-Glen Development Corp., which succeeded in getting the Keymark Corp. to locate in the village. Keymark, which manufactures extruded aluminum products, remains in Fonda today and is one of Montgomery County’s largest employers.

When he was 41, W. Barent Wemple became a director of the former National Mohawk River Bank of Fonda and later, its president. The bank merged with Central National Bank of Canajoharie, where he served as a director, and chairman of its building committee, according to his obituary. He was a director of the former FJ & G Railroad and of the Fulton County Coal and Oil Co. He served as a trustee of the village of Fonda and a member of the former Fonda Planning Board. He was a member of the board of education and a member of the first Montgomery County Economic Development Committee.

She was born on the former McNab homestead on North McNab Avenue and West Fulton Street. That land was later donated to the city of Gloversville by her parents which now serves as the site of the McNab Elementary School, according to her obituary.

Ashley Burton Wemple studied in Gloversville schools and went to high school at The Willard School in Berlin, Germany, later studying at Smith College in Massachusetts and then at the Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing, where she became a registered nurse.

Ashley Burton Wemple was a member of the Nathan Littauer Hospital’s board of trustees, commissioner of the Girl Scouts of Fulton County, president of the Alliance Francaise and the Every Monday Club of Gloversville, according to her obituary. Her activities, described as “innumerable” after she died, included membership on the boards of education of the Fonda School and later of the Fonda-Fultonville school districts once they consolidated. Her memberships included the PTA, the Caughnawaga Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Century Club of Amsterdam, and the Antlers Country Club. Ashley Burton Wemple also served as a trustee and secretary-treasurer of the Frothingham Free Library and as a member of the Mohawk Valley Library Association, according to her obituary.

married in 1930

Elizabeth Ashley Burton and W. Barent Wemple were married on July 26, 1930. They had two children; one, William Jr., was struck and killed at age 8 by a sand truck on Park Street in the village. He was on the way to third grade at the Fonda Elementary School, according to genealogical materials. Their son Frank, was born on Oct. 12, 1935, and attended Bard College and Columbia University. He worked with his father at the newspaper, according to his 2006 obituary.

Elizabeth Ashley Burton Wemple died at age 69 in November of 1964, 14 years before her husband, who died in August of 1978 at age 82. Rose Aversa, who still lives in the home next door to the former Wemple home, said she recalls W. Barent Wemple living alone after his wife’s death. “After she died, he didn’t do much. He gave up the paper and he just kind of walked,” Aversa said. “He kept to himself. In fact, he kept the light on at night    he just kind of withdrew to himself.”

Though gone for decades, the Burtons will be memorialized through their gift to students, which, though surprising to residents when announced, doesn’t surprise people who knew them. The Fonda-Fultonville School District expects to distribute about 12 scholarships of $7,000, the cost of tuition at Fulton-Montgomery Community College. The family left a request that the scholarships be distributed equally among males and females and based on student financial need. The fund itself requires that at least 5 percent of its value go to Fonda-Fultonville graduates pursuing higher education and, depending on its management, could endure for decades, officials said.

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Mar 21

Dance troupe proud of national honor

The St. Augustine Record, by Kati Bexley, Saturday, March 21, 2009

For Cori Ottenstein, 17, being part of Bartram Trail High School’s dance team on March 8, the day the team won the National Dance Alliance National Championships in Orlando, was one of the best days of her life.

Members of the Bartram High School dance team practice a routine at the school on Thursday, March 19, 2009.

Members of the Bartram High School dance team practice a routine at the school on Thursday, March 19, 2009.

Bartram Trail beat out 400 other schools across the country to win its second consecutive title. The school’s coach, Patty Adams, has spent several years building up the school’s unstoppable reputation across the state. And it’s paying off. Several girls are going on to dance for colleges, and some are auditioning for the Jacksonville Jaguars “The Roar” dancers. (…)

Like Ottenstein, dance team members say the sport has taught them life lessons. Team Captain Brittiany Fonda, 19, and team officer, Kayla Harris, 18, say it’s shown them the hard work and determination it takes to obtain a goal.

Both of the girls are trying out for the Jaguars “The Roar” and are in the final round of auditions. “I will just work really hard this year to improve and try out again next year,” Fonda said. “You can never give up.”

Svedlund said Adams taught them the dance team “isn’t really about dance.” She’s trying out for the dance team at Georgia Tech, where she will attend next year. She said Adams pushes them to bring in an A or B average, and Svedlund is ranked 29th in her class. “She taught us it doesn’t matter at the end of the day whether you win or lose,” she said. “As long as you’ve given your best, you can never let excuses get in your way.”

Adams said even if her team hadn’t taken the national championship, they won her over after their performance.”They came off the stage and said, ‘We can go home right now because we know we did our best. We did everything we could,'” she said. “The lessons of hard work they learned was the real prize for me.”

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Nov 23

Three from Harvard receive American Rhodes Scholarships

The Harvard University Gazette, November 23, 2008

Two Harvard College students and a Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) doctoral student have received Rhodes Scholarships. Thirty-two Americans were chosen from among 800 applicants for the scholarships to the University of Oxford in England.

Kyle Q. Haddad-Fonda

Kyle Q. Haddad-Fonda, Issaquah, Wash., is a senior at Harvard College where he majors in history and near-Eastern languages and civilizations. Well-versed in Mandarin and Arabic, the Pforzheimer House resident conducted research in China and Egypt for his senior thesis on Sino-Arab relations. Haddad-Fonda was captain of the Harvard 2008 National College Bowl Championship team and plays the harp in the Mozart Society Orchestra. He plans to do a doctorate in Oriental studies at Oxford.

“I’m absolutely thrilled at the prospect of studying at Oxford next year,” he said, “and humbled by the caliber of the other students who went through the process as well.”

Haddad-Fonda said an early interest in geography and “the world and understanding other places” led him to his concentration. Current events, like the recent deal between Iraq and China in excess of $3 billion that will allow China to develop an oil field southeast of Baghdad, he noted, point to the increasing importance of Sino-Arab connections.

While at Oxford, he plans to continue his research and explore how this and other connections have developed in recent times.

“It’s a topic that is very current and very important. And it’s something that I want to understand and to understand in a historic perspective as well.” (…)

Elliot F. Gerson, American secretary of the Rhodes Trust, in a press release called the Rhodes Scholarships “the oldest and best-known award for international study, and arguably the most famous academic award available to American college graduates.” The scholarships were created in 1902 by the will of Cecil Rhodes, British philanthropist and African colonial pioneer. The first class of American Rhodes Scholars entered Oxford in 1904; those chosen this weekend will enter Oxford in October 2009.

Gerson said 3,164 Americans have won Rhodes Scholarships, representing 309 colleges and universities. The number of Harvard College students who have won American Rhodes Scholarships is now 323, more than from any other college. That number does not include Rhodes Scholars who were Harvard students who were citizens of other countries, and also does not include scholars who were selected while attending Harvard’s graduate schools.

In addition to the 32 Americans, Rhodes Scholars will also be selected from Australia, Bermuda, Canada, the nations of the Commonwealth Caribbean, Germany, India, Jamaica, Kenya, New Zealand, Pakistan, Southern Africa (South Africa, plus Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, and Swaziland), Zambia, and Zimbabwe. About 80 Rhodes Scholars are selected worldwide each year. Some countries have not yet announced their Rhodes Scholars.

The value of the Rhodes Scholarships varies depending on the academic field and the degree (B.A., master’s, doctoral) chosen. The Rhodes Trust pays all college and university fees, provides a stipend to cover necessary expenses while in residence in Oxford as well as during vacations, and transportation to and from England. Gerson estimates that the total value of the scholarship averages approximately $50,000 per year.

2 from region named Rhodes scholars

The Associated Press, by Dan Robrish, Monday, November 24, 2008

An Issaquah man who is studying history and Chinese and Arabic languages at Harvard University is among this year’s winners of the Rhodes Scholarship.

Kyle Q. Haddad-Fonda joins Mallory A. Dwinal, of Gig Harbor, and 30 other men and women from across the United States in winning the prestigious scholarships for study at England’s Oxford University.

The winners – announced publicly on Sunday – were picked from 769 applicants endorsed by 207 colleges and universities nationwide. The scholarships are the oldest of the international-study awards available to American students. They provide two or three years of study at Oxford University in England, commencing in October.

Haddad-Fonda, 22, grew up in Bellevue and graduated from Lakeside School in Seattle, where he studied Chinese and learned to play the harp. He plays in Harvard’s student orchestra and served as captain of the school’s College Bowl team, for the academic-oriented quiz competition along the lines of “Jeopardy!”

His senior thesis at Harvard focused on China-Arab relations in the 1950s. He plans to pursue the British equivalent of a doctorate in Asian studies. (…)

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