To find slime molds, look for the damp places. Your quarry will be visible to the naked eye when it joins forces by the thousands to coalesce into blobby shapes—like undercooked pancakes, left on logs at Tilden Park, or a lattice of high-gloss mustard, in the hills near Mount Tam.

If you're like most people and have never thought about textiles and maps at the same time, together, then you just might be the target audience for artist Linda Gass. Add climate change, land use, and Bay Area waterways into the mix, and it’s safe to say her work is unlike anything else out there.