Thursday   

In this workshop, we will discuss the basic "building blocks" of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as how these genres can combine and overlap to create new hybrid-genre works. Students will be invited to pursue a common question or topic across their writing in multiple genres if they like, or explore each one with a unique idea in mind. Stretch your creative muscles in this workshop where fun, introspection, and experimentation are encouraged. Students will need writing supplies of their choice.

This participative discussion class looks at national and international current affairs each week. Discussions include politics and other topic matters suggested by the group. Events are considered based on their effects today and into the future, historical context and leadership.

Take a journey through the early modern period in architectural history - from the monumental stature of neo-classical manors to the fantastical sculptures of art nouveau gardens. This course explores how architecture changed over centuries, shaped by shifting cultures, philosophies, and artistic ideals. Along the way, you'll look at key buildings that define each era, get to know the ideas behind their appearances, and draw connections between structures that were built worlds apart.

By the end of the course, you'll have a solid understanding of the cultural backgrounds, informing major architectural movements, be able to identify significant buildings and their symbolic features, and recognize how architecture from different times and places connected in surprising ways. No background in architecture is needed - just curiosity and an appreciation for the built world.

Did you know that when you are completely immersed in your current action, you are meditating? Creating art is an example of an activity that teaches you how to focus on, and live in, the moment. Join us to experience the joy of creating amazing art with the humble but versatile medium of colored pencils. Learn simple tips, tricks and techniques for creating rich and vibrant artwork, which can be applied to all subjects including florals, still-life, landscapes, portraits, abstracts and more. No drawing experience or expertise necessary. Instruction will be tailored to suit each individual's skill level.

In this course, participants will read and discuss 40 recently published short stories that demonstrate how much can be accomplished in 1,000 words or fewer. These works, often described as flash fiction, explore life in all its complexity - its ambiguities, contradictions, and unexpected turns - through language that is precise and intentional. Because of their extreme brevity, such stories require exceptional discipline from their writers, with every word carrying weight. As participants engage with these texts, they will develop an appreciation for flash fiction as a distinct literary form, learn to recognize how skilled writers achieve depth and meaning without excess, and gain insight into what distinguishes the strongest short stories from those that feel like condensed novels. All readings for the course are freely available online.

This participative discussion class looks at national and international current affairs each week. Discussions include politics and other topic matters suggested by the group. Events are considered based on their effects today and into the future, historical context and leadership.