Avocados are one of today’s most beloved foods, valued for their rich flavor, healthy fats, and essential nutrients. But long before, avocados evolved as nourishment for giant Ice Age animals like sloths and mammoths. When those creatures vanished, humans stepped in, reshaping the fruit through domestication and forest management. Archaeobotanist Heather Thakar follows the avocado’s history from the highlands of ancient Honduras to today’s grocery stores.
In this four-week class, students are introduced to materials and techniques for oil painting while laying a strong foundation for further artistic growth.
Indulge in a colorful midwinter escape as horticultural expert Keith Tomlinson leads a series of virtual visits that highlight the beauty of notable botanical gardens in settings as varied as Singapore, the Arizona desert, and the American Midwest. In vibrant visuals he explores how each garden has taken a unique approach to design and interpretation as they celebrate plant collections, conservation, education, and the distinctive environments and landscapes in which they bloom. This session focuses on the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore.
When Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumter, Walt Whitman declared it "the volcanic upheaval of the nation”—the inception of a war that would dramatically alter the shape and character of American culture. Scholar Randall Fuller of the University of Kansas traces the changes in his poetry from idealism to a realism that depicts a more chastened view of America as a place where enormous suffering had occurred.
In an afternoon of artistic experimentation designed to strengthen creative muscles and deepen skills in visual expression, explore five distinct modes of visual thinking—memory, observation, imagination, narrative, and experimentation—to complete eight expressive journaling exercises using the marking and mapping approach.
Create a miniature work of art that unfolds into something magical. Explore the charm and versatility of the accordion book form—perfect for storytelling, journaling, or simply experimenting with imagery.
Take your ideas from banal to beautiful by learning how to create mind maps worthy of framing. Choose from three styles to illustrate your thoughts and goals.
For centuries, mariners spun tales of gargantuan waves in the open ocean, annihilating walls of water measuring 100 feet high or taller. Though once dismissed as impossible, new evidence has led oceanographers to determine that we have underestimated how the seas behave at their most ferocious. Journalist and author Susan Casey provides a look at these colossal, ship-swallowing rogue waves—noting that as scientists scramble to understand this phenomenon, others, including extreme surfers, view the giant waves as the ultimate challenge.
