Lifelong Learning

The topic for February's Art Conversation is Collections! Nicolette will be showing you some amazing collections that she hopes will make you consider what you collect.  There will be some surprises here. As a special touch, Nicolette is encouraging you to bring an item(s) from your collection(s) to the meeting, for this very special workshop.  Zoom attendees are also encouraged to "bring" something. Come and find out about the woman [...]

  As the saying goes, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever," and the desire to adorn one's self with beautiful things is as old as humankind. A magnificent jewel provides the perfect complement to the fashion of the day, but more importantly, reflects its owner's taste, lifestyle, wealth and status. This lecture will examine some of the great jewelry collections belonging to royals, aristocrats, divas, socialites and Hollywood [...]

Harmony Hollow, in Cave Creek, is a triangular piece of land that reaches the boundaries of Spur Cross Ranch.  It is 28 acres of desert, wildlife, and history. Much like Spur Cross Ranch, the land contains Native American Pit Houses, Pueblos, and ruins from long ago when the land was home to the Hohokam. "The whole thing is full of archaeology" says Gary Smitt, former president and founder of the [...]

Jan Downey is the daughter and granddaughter of a German-Jewish family, some of whom managed to escape the Nazi's "Final Solution". In presenting her family's ordeal and escape, Jan will show original family documents the Nazis demanded and defiled, documents related to their escape from German and their refugee status in the United States. A tailor in Germany, Jan's grandfather was also an artist who loved painting and photography.  Once [...]