John Barton: A Certain Mathematics
As children, we naturally make art out of our lives. We paint with our fingers, color fantasies with crayons, build living room pillow forts, and dance and hum as we walk. Jim Barton, though, has continued his art-making through his adult life -- transforming decaying tree stumps, junkyard wooden doors, and scrap wood into mystical carvings, giant buddhas, and elegant salmon soaring into the sky. ... posted on Nov 29 2019, 2,132 reads

A Chorus of Thank Yous
"Thanksgiving is a formal holiday for giving thanks, for sharing community with family and friends, but its also the holiday that represents most vividly the paradox of feeling gratitude even as we suffer or cause the suffering of others...For me, Thanksgiving is about paradox, about the challenge to do or think, be and hold opposing thoughts or circumstances at once. It is gratitude for the human... posted on Nov 28 2019, 3,999 reads

Why We Turn to Mr. Rogers
"Here's the thing: Mister Rogers almost never taught us that we should be kind. There wasn't much should at all in the Neighborhood. The shoulds that did subtly emerge were more like suggestions. "You might consider sharing who you are through the arts. May I suggest that you find ways to express your feelings? May I remind you, once more, that those expressions don't have to hurt you or anyone el... posted on Nov 27 2019, 12,819 reads

The Emotional Life of Animals
Any animal lover knows how intelligent our four-footed friends are, and how many emotions they share with us--especially the positive ones. And now scientific research tells us they have sensory and motor abilities that dwarf ours. Dogs are able to detect diseases such as cancer and diabetes and warn humans of impending heart attacks and strokes. Elephants, whales, hippopotamuses, giraffes, and al... posted on Nov 26 2019, 6,628 reads

Falling in Love With the Earth
"The natural world is one of the most resplendent and consistent sources of generosity in our lives whether we experience it directly moment-to-moment or not. When we allow ourselves to tune in and pay attention, our Earth is perpetually nourishing and providing for us, sustaining life and offering its abundant gifts with a breathtaking and consistent flourish. We are fed, literally and figurativ... posted on Nov 25 2019, 6,626 reads

Between Worlds
What is it like to be a living member of a dying community? Climate change is making this an increasingly common reality. Isle de Jean Charles, a slip of land off the coast of Louisiana is one such place. This island is home to a hundred or so people, members, mostly, of a Native American tribe called the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw--the BCC for short. For eight generations, the people of Isle de Je... posted on Nov 24 2019, 5,021 reads

Secret to Life
This lyrical video introduces us to Antoinette, who immediately draws us into her welcoming world of nature and a life lived in sync with the rhythms of the natural world. Early in her life Antoinette was called to living in the wild. "This was the fire that ignited my soul." Antoinette's passion and wisdom are conveyed in her simple words that are poetry to the ears while speaking directly to the... posted on Nov 23 2019, 3,683 reads

Lily Yeh: Fire in the Darkness of a Winter's Night
Lily Yeh was a successful painter and professor at Philadelphia's University of the Arts when she returned to Beijing in 1989 to display her artwork. While there, she witnessed the tragic events of Tiananmen Square and came to realize that, "being an artist is not simply about making art...It is about delivering the vision one is given...and about doing the correct thing without sparing oneself." ... posted on Nov 22 2019, 3,226 reads

Complicating the Narratives
"Complicating the narrative means finding and including the details that don't fit the narrative -- on purpose. The idea is to revive complexity in a time of false simplicity. 'The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue but that they are incomplete,' novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie says in her mesmerizing TED Talk "A Single Story." '[I]t's impossible to engage properly with a place... posted on Nov 21 2019, 2,085 reads

Ben Quilty: Artist Activist
Ben Quilty is one of Australia's best-known artists. Internationally acclaimed and award winning, he is described as "complex, flawed, obvious, messy, courageous, funny," and an activist. An official war artist in 2011, he produced work for the Australian War Memorial's National Collection. The book, Home: Drawings by Syrian Children is the result of his experience visiting refugee camps in Greece... posted on Nov 20 2019, 4,817 reads