Is it magic or is it science? Have great fun exploring the surprising tricks mirrors can play on your brain! This special hands-on exhibition for people of all ages is on display at WonderLab (Tuesday – Sunday) through April 13.

Opening January 3 and running until February 1, a variety of new exhibits are on display at the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center galleries.

National Society of Arts and Letters: 2014 Visual Arts Competition and Exhibition of Emerging Artists

Indiana artists aged 18-29 compete for a $1,000 Best in Show prize awarded annually by the Bloomington Chapter of the NSAL. This local group has given away over half a million dollars to support budding careers invisual arts, dance, drama, literature, music, and musical theatre since 1966.

Janelle Beasley: “Comfort Zone” (paper collages)

Lucas Adams and Bailey Tichenor: “Northern Exposure” (paintings and photographs)

Galleries are open Monday – Friday, 9 am – 7 pm, and Saturday, 9 am – 5 pm.

New in the Galleries: “Photographing Rosie the Riveter”
Runs October 1-January 26
The conscription of men into military service during WW II led to a demand for female workers in the factories supplying munitions and war supplies. Government photography projects, such as the Farm Security Administration (FSA), revamped their operations to support the efforts of the Office of War Information (OWI). This installation features propagandistic images of female assembly-line workers by Andreas Feininger, Alfred T. Palmer, and Howard Liberman. Organized by Maura Campbell-Balkits, a museum intern in the Department of Communications and Culture.

What: Tai Chi for Wellness with Margret Kingrey

Where: Endwright Center, 631 W. Edgewood Drive, Ellettsville, IN 47429

When: Tuesdays & Thursdays, January 7 through 30
Intermediate Tai Chi: 10:00 – 11:00 am
Beginning Tai Chi: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Cost: Eight Classes for $50 (preregister & pay-in-full), or $7 pay-per class.
(Endwright Center Members: $45)

About: Tai Chi is a program which improves flexibility, muscle strength, balance as well as increases energy and metabolism. It is also known to decrease anxiety and allow improved breathing. Being a form of movement with intention developed centuries ago in China, it has been used as a martial art as well as a meditative practice.

Margret Kingrey, MA, OTR, is a certified instructor for Tai Chi for Health from Dr. Paul Lam’s Tai Chi for Health Institute since 2009. Dr. Lam’s program is internationally recognized, as well as by the Arthritis Foundation and the American Diabetes Association.
Margret has taught Tai Chi for Health at the Endwright Center, Meadowood Retirement Community and at Ellettsville First United Methodist Church. Prior to becoming a certified Tai Chi instructor, Margret practiced occupational therapy for over 35 years in a variety of settings. She is currently a licensed occupational therapist in Indiana and Massachusetts.

For more information call 812-876-3383 ex. 515

“Community Voices Gallery: League of Women Voters”
League of Women Voters exhibit, open now through March 29, 2014, through photos, documents, written history and objects you will be able to see the involvement of the Bloomington Chapter of this nationwide organization. Please note, museum hours are Tues-Sat, 10am-4pm.

“Giants in Cornfield, Civil War Sesquicentennial”
“Giants in Cornfield, Civil War Sesquicentennial” exhibit open now through April 12, 2014, gives an incredible look at the soldiers from Monroe County and their role in the battles of the Civil War. Please note, museum hours are Tues-Sat, 10am-4pm.

“Old Fashioned Christmas”
Come view Christmases from the past in the History Center’s “Old Fashioned Christmas” exhibit. November 29 – February 15, 2014 Please note, museum hours are Tues-Sat, 10am-4pm.

A holiday show of handmade work by more than 50 local artists.

Opening January 3 and running until February 1 at Pictura Gallery is a new photography exhibit by Antonio Bolfa: “Haiti: Mass Garbage Dumps of Cite Soleil”.

“The town of Cite Soleil has the biggest garbage dumping grounds in the city of Port au Prince and possibly the country of Haiti. It is a vast wasteland that stretches to the horizon, always expanding as peoples’ waste is dumped there. On and around this massive wasteland a community has grown. People erect makeshift homes and raise families among the fields of garbage where they scavenge the refuse for food, scrap metal and other recyclable items so they can survive. There are no jobs, health care or education. A good day is when garbage trucks deliver batches of spoiled meat that are free for eating. Following the tragic earthquake on January 10th, 2010, the international community poured financial assistance into the country. Since that day, not a single penny has been received by the community of Cite Soleil. As I watched people fight for their survival, I would always think to myself, “What do these people need to sacrifice in order to live like this? Do these people have to relinquish some part of their humanity in order to survive? Or does this kind of hardship define a part of what humanity is in the 21st century?” I am still shocked that this level of poverty and base survival still exists in 2013.”

Artist talk will be held Thursday, January 30 at 7 pm. Gallery is open Tuesday – Saturday, 11 am – 7 pm.

Do you have stories to pass along to your children, grandkids… or the whole world?

The nonprofit Career Resource Center of Nashville, Indiana, is now offering exciting new classes for people who have a book inside them, just waiting to get out. Whether you’ve already written a book, are currently writing one, or are simply dreaming of writing one in the future, these courses are ideal for you.

The first is “Self-Publish a Paperback at Little or No Cost.” It consists of six weekly classes covering topics from preparation of manuscripts in Word format for self-publication, to actual printing of books at Lulu.com and Amazon’s CreateSpace.com, to methods for developing an audience for a self-published book after publication.

The second is “Self-Publish an e-Book at Little or No Cost,” showing you how to publish your book at Amazon’s ‘Kindle Direct Publishing’ and make it available to readers worldwide, without spending a dime.

Your book does NOT need to be fully written to learn the techniques in these courses. Bring your manuscript, finished or unfinished, to each class on a flash drive, laptop or tablet computer in Microsoft Word format. This will allow you to apply the methods explained during classes in real life. Basic (but not advanced) skills using Word are needed for best results.

The instructor is Harvard graduate Danny O. Snow, editor / publisher of SelfPublishersMonthly.com, a new e-Book series available worldwide from Amazon, Apple, and Barnes & Noble.

Each course will emphasize what Snow calls “Do-it-Yourself-Publishing” with low-to-no investment, versus paying a vanity press hundreds — if not thousands — of dollars.

Students from previous classes have already made their books available on Amazon without spending a dime — you can too!

The cost is just $75 for six weekly classes. You may attend class any Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday each week at 6 pm by appointment only; please call 206-666-5484 or e-mail [email protected] to reserve a seat beforehand.

Comedy Writing–What’s So Funny?
A ten week writing course
Starts January 21

Tuesdays, 6:30-8:00pm. 10 classes ending March 25.

Location: Monroe Public Library
In collaboration with the Writers Guild at Bloomington

Free and Open to the Public.

To register email: dnlodge@gmailcom. Limited to 10 participants.

Beer School, a series of educational presentations about beer, is held every Tuesday at 7 pm at Yogi’s Grill & Bar in the Pub Room. Speakers range from Yogi’s own in-house staff (who are Certified Beer Servers) to craft brewers from around the country. Admission is free.