Classes

Registration Now Open

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  Introduction to Hand Embroidery

  Sunday, January 12, 1:00–4:00 pm

  $55 General; $45 Members

  Learn the basics of hand embroidery in this beginners’ workshop. Try your hand at the most common stitches and then use them to create a sampler. You’ll find inspiration from embroidered objects in Visions and Values, and leave with the confidence to choose the best stitches for any design.

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  Immortal Bones: From Osteology to Paleontology

  Tuesdays, January 14–February 11, 1:30–3:00 pm

  $125 General; $100 Members

  While completely concealed, bone supports vertebrate life. Then, when revealed, bone reflects Earth’s history and human culture. Learn about bone’s composition, structure, names, shapes, growth patterns, and disorders. Then discover how paleontologists, archaeologists, and anthropologists use bone to interpret Earth’s history and the course of animal life.

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  Opera in HD

  Playing in a Theater Near You

  Wednesdays, January 15–February 12, 1:00–3:30 pm

  $125 General; $100 Members

  This season’s Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD transmissions showcase works spanning three centuries and five different musical styles: baroque, bel canto, romantic, verismo, and contemporary. They include George Frideric Handel’s Agrippina, Gaetano Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, and George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Discuss the composers and view video highlights of the productions featuring renowned artists.

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  Great Decisions: A Current Events Discussion Group

  Thursdays, January 16 and 30, February 13 and 27, March 12 and 26, April 9 and 23, 1:30–3:00 pm

  $220 General; $170 Members

  Become an informed citizen! In this stimulating discussion group, discuss and debate important international current events with the guidance of an experienced moderator and guest lecturers from area universities and think tanks.

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  How to Write Great Stories

  Mondays, January 27–March 23 (no class February 17), 1:00–3:00 pm

  $200 General; $160 Members

  Focus on the practice and craft of creative writing. As participants develop and revise their work, they will learn about various writing craft elements, including style, voice, dialogue, character development, and story structure. The goal will be for each class member to prepare one piece for publication. Both fiction and nonfiction (memoir, personal essay) writers are welcome.

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  Bread and Roses—Yiddish Songs of the Jewish Labor Movement

  A Singing Workshop

  Thursdays, January 30–February 20, 1:30–3:00 pm

  $80 General; $60 Members

  Study, listen to, and sing Yiddish and English songs from both sides of the ocean that chronicle the struggle for better pay and conditions in the workplace. Discuss the work of labor poets Morris Rosenfeld, David Edelstadt, Avrom Reyzen, and others, while you learn Yiddish vocabulary in the process.

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  Introduction to Metal Clay Workshop

  Saturday, February 1, 10:00 am–3:00 pm

  $100 General

  In this intensive class, offered in partnership with Otis College Extension, learn how to work with metal clay.

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  Skirball Book Groups: Something Different

  Winter–Spring 2020

  $160 General; $135 Members

  Under the direction of a professional book group facilitator, participants examine the book together, analyzing characters, themes, and motifs and learning about the author’s background. Expect lively, interactive classes. Discussion questions are distributed in advance of each class session. Participants must read the book prior to each session.

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  Art and Light: Illumination’s Symbolic Meaning in Art

  Wednesdays, February 12–March 18, 10:30 am–12:00 pm

  $150 General; $120 Members

  Light in art is a symbol for hope, wisdom, divinity, and intellectual spatial exploration, whether radiating from a candle in works by Caravaggio, pouring gently through a window in Vermeer’s masterpieces, or impressionistically conveyed by Israëls. Today, artists such as Dan Flavin, Mary Corse, James Turrell, and Olafur Eliasson sculpt space using neon, sunshine, and digital LED installations. Why are we attracted to light, and what are all of these visionaries telling us about perception and our own humanity?

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  Stephen Sondheim: The Man and the Music

  Wednesdays, February 19–March 25, 1:00–3:00 pm

  $150 General; $120 Members

  For more than six decades, Stephen Sondheim’s work has thrilled millions, challenging us to see the human condition in new ways. In celebration of his ninetieth birthday, study video clips of performances from West Side Story, Gypsy, Company, Follies, and Into the Woods, among others, as well as footage of interviews with Sondheim and his collaborators.

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  Writing Children’s Books

  Thursdays, February 20–April 30 (no class on March 19), 7:00–10:00 pm

  $505 General

  Master writing for a variety of children’s genres, including picture books, easy-to-reads, chapter books, novels, and nonfiction. This class, offered in partnership with Otis College Extension, explores the art of storytelling and how characterization, theme, plot development, dialogue, and point of view create unique and interesting stories. The children’s book marketplace, the importance of the editing process, how to work with illustrators, and how to submit your manuscripts to editors will also be covered.

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