Dr. Foots has softened the edges of his hard life. There was a time when he ran the streets and got into trouble, but now his wrinkled hands craft eccentric baubles.

The Philadelphia native, who was born John Booth, started making jewelry at age 8, but it took decades before he carved his niche as a sought-after artisan whose work adorns such celebrities as Erykah Badu.

The only road in Venice, La., winds around grassy marshes and sprouts off into gravel driveways where trailers sit in semi-circles, some on 20-foot stilts. At its end are the three marinas that support the local economy’s lifeline: shrimping.

With stomachs full and sweaters unpacked to help endure an intensely air-conditioned classroom, 18 NYT Institute students attended a workshop about using the Internet to integrate multimedia and interactive material into news reports.