Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for a course of three online workshops that explore essential elements of writing and styles through close looking, word-sketching, and imaginative response to prompts. The sessions spotlight a wide range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice.
Best known for her mesmerizing wire sculptures that blur the line between drawing and sculpture, Ruth Asawa created a body of work that is both deeply personal and universally resonant. A second-generation Japanese American, Asawa endured incarceration during World War II and emerged with a lifelong commitment to the transformative power of art and education. Art historian Jennie Hirsh traces Asawa’s journey as an artist, activist, and educator. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Whether you want to work in digital or film, this course offers a solid foundation for new photographers ready to learn the basics. Topics include camera functions, exposure, metering, working with natural and artificial light, and composition.
Learn the fundamentals of knitting, including casting on, basic knit and purl stitches, increasing, decreasing, and binding off. Students learn by practice and may start a knitting project during class.
The Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice, situated next to the Church of San Rocco, is the seat of the religious society named for San Rocco established in 1478. Over the next decade, the scuola became the richest in the city, so its members decided to construct a monumental building and hire Tintoretto to decorate it. Italian Renaissance art expert Rocky Ruggiero showcases several of the scuola’s more than 60 paintings, many done by Tintoretto and his workshop. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
By understanding how plants work, you can be more successful at caring for them, since knowledge of basic plant biology can be a valuable tool for indoor gardeners fascinated by plants and their unique characteristics. Virginia Velez Thaxton, a horticulturist with the Interiors Section of Smithsonian Gardens, explores the essential factors plants need from their environment and offers an overview of the physiological processes at play.
Behind the grandeur of the Tudor throne lurked a deep fascination with alchemy, astrology, and signs from the divine. Major events such as marriages, coronations, treaties, and military campaigns were often timed according to favorable alignments of the stars. Historian Cheryl White unlocks a hidden world of power where monarchs sometimes navigated political intrigue with the assistance of the dark currents of occult belief.
French Post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin worked in Brittany’s Pont-Aven and later with Vincent van Gogh in Arles until he decided to travel to Tahiti in 1891. Art historian Joseph Paul Cassar discusses Gauguin’s many travels with the French Navy and his time as a successful stockbroker before committing himself to painting. Focusing on Gauguin’s main masterpieces and his legacy, Cassar also provides a critical analysis of the works created by the artist during his visits to Tahiti. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
