Chinese New Year, Camellia Festival and more for the week ahead

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Home and garden events, classes and exhibitions are listed below. Suggest your own via reader comments. No store promotions and no frivolous links, please.

Jan. 30: Noted architect Frederick Fisher, whose recent projects include the Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica and Caltech’s Annenberg Center, lectures as part of the UCLA Architecture and Urban Design series. 6:30 p.m. Free. Decafé (Perloff Hall, Room 1302). (310) 267-4704.

Feb. 1: Sylvia Lavin, the director of critical studies in the architecture and urban design department at UCLA, speaks as part of the Southern California Institute of Architecture’s spring lecture series. 7 p.m. Free. Lectures, talks, and discussions are also broadcast live at www.sciarc.edu/live. 960 E. 3rd St., Los Angeles. (213) 613-2200.

Feb. 2: Landscape designer Mark Bartos discusses his favorite plant combinations, artful arrangements based on repetition of shapes, leaf colors and textures. Part of the Thursday Garden Talks With Lili Singer. 9:30 a.m. to noon. $20. Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. (626) 821-4623.

Feb. 4: Lisa Novick presents an illustrated talk on how California native plants were shaped by geologic history and how gardeners can think about plant-animal relationships when creating a garden. 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. $20 to $25. Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants, 10459 Tuxford Road, Sun Valley. Reservations: (818) 768-1802.

Feb. 4: Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden offers a free clinic on native plants the first Saturday of every month. Visitors can get questions answered by Rancho Santa Ana experts. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 1500 N. College Ave, Claremont. (909) 625-8767.

Feb. 4: Arborist and plant pathologist Jerrold Turney provides a basic overview of the fungal kingdom. Learn which mushrooms are safe to eat and which ones to avoid. Attendees are encouraged to bring mushrooms for identification and discussion. 10 a.m. to noon. Talk is followed by a walk in the garden to hunt for mushrooms. Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. $25 to $30. (626) 821-4623.

Feb. 4: Chinese music and dance are part of the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens’ annual Chinese New Year Festival. The two-day event also includes dragon dancers, martial arts demonstrations, mask-changing performances and children’s book readings. 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Feb. 4 and 5. Included with general admission of $6 to $20. 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. (626) 405-2100.

Feb. 4: Descanso Gardens’ annual event includes “faery tours” of the enchanted forest from 9:30 a.m. to noon; a camellia walk and talk at 10:30 a.m., noon and 1:30 p.m.; and a lecture with camellia horticulturist Wen Wang at 11:30 a.m. Included in regular admission of $3 to $8. 1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada Flintridge. (818) 949-4200. ONGOING:

Midcentury design: “California Design, 1930-1965: Living in a Modern Way” features more than 300 objects including furniture, ceramics, metalwork, fashion and graphic design. Ends June 3. Regularly $10 to $15. Free admission to residents of Los Angeles County after 5 on some evenings. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 857-6010.

Beatrice Wood: “Beatrice Wood: Career Woman — Drawings, Paintings, Vessels, and Objects,” a survey devoted to the noted ceramist. Ends March 3. $3 to $5. Santa Monica Museum of Art, 2525 Michigan Ave., G-1. (310) 586-6488.

Maloof exhibition: “The House That Sam Built: Sam Maloof and Art in the Pomona Valley, 1945-1985” showcases about 30 pieces by the acclaimed woodworker with about 80 works by friends and colleagues. Maloof’s circle included painters Millard Sheets, Phil Dike and Karl Benjamin; sculptors Albert Stewart, Betty Davenport Ford and John Svenson; ceramists Harrison McIntosh and Otto and Gertrud Natzler; enamelists Jean and Arthur Ames; wood turner Bob Stocksdale; and fiber artist Kay Sekimachi. Ends Jan. 30. Included in admission of $6 to $20. MaryLou and George Boone Gallery, Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. (626) 405-2100.

Ceramics: The American Museum of Ceramic Art shows “Common Ground: Ceramics in Southern California 1945-1975.” The survey of midcentury Southern California ceramics features more than 50 artists, including Elaine Katzer, Anthony Ivins, Otto and Vivika Heino and Betty Davenport. $4 to $5. Ends March 31. 399 N. Garey Ave., Pomona. (909) 865-3146.

California craft: Craft in America and the Craft and Folk Art Museum present the survey “Golden State of Craft: California 1960-1985,” an exhibition of more than 70 pieces by 65 influential innovators. Ends June 3. 5814 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. $5 to $7. (323) 937-4230.

Chinese mirrors: The exhibit “Ancient Chinese Bronze Mirrors From the Lloyd Cotsen Collection” spans 3,000 years and highlights 80 highly decorative pieces. Ends May 14. $6 to $20. Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. (626) 405-2100.

— Lisa Boone

Photo credits: Los Angeles Times

Please send listings at least three weeks in advance to home@latimes.com or Home section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.