Attended a private candle making class as a team building activity for work. Our instructor was…read morefantastic and we had a great time creating our own candles -- the colors, scents, and topper designs. I want to be more creative but have never really cultivated an artistic side, so I love that this studio exists. I live in the area and expect that I'll be back for one of their public art classes in the future.

Created an epoxy resin art tray with my mom and my sister. Our trays incorporated stones and…read morecrystals. It was a combined class where all of the other attendees made an ocean cheese board. Our instructor, Kay, was excellent. You can tell she really has a passion for this. She was very knowledgeable and helped us each along the way. She gave each student individual attention. Very patient and guided the class well. The studio is cute! As soon as you walk in it was inviting. Lots of projects to draw inspo from. I truly enjoyed the class and will definitely be coming back to try out another class.

Came on a complimentary day and saw Cat Gunn's work. Interesting show. Glad we had the chance to…read morecheck it out!

Interesting exhibit. Free the day we went. I love art and all things art. Spent about 30 minutes…read morebrowsing. Will be back.

If You've never been to the Spanish Village art center before you need to go. There's all kinds of…read moreart media, including watercolors oils, acrylics, sculpture, jewelry, rocks, and minerals, and gifts of any kind. It's a wonderful place to do your birthday and holiday shopping. I was pleasantly surprised to see that all of the colorful paving stones had been newly painted. They had been looking quite faded for a long while. They also have a wonderful coffee cart and restrooms. I always enjoy the sculpture garden that is in the bath and I also enjoy the pottery studio where you could often see artist at work throwing their pottery.

Most recent visit to San Diego, made our first trip to Spanish Village Art Center. I had previously…read morelived in South Orange County for over 2 decades and never knew about this location. Very eclectic is the best way to sum it up in my opinion. Many different mediums of art on display. It also seemed you could take part in art classes there as well. The artists that were present during our visit to the Art Center were very friendly and willing to share how they got their bug for art as well as the different projects that were of most interest to them. Art Center seemed to be well maintained and very clean. If you are in the San Diego and haven't been to the Spanish Village Art Center, I would recommend you make plans to do so.

It was a really hard decision for me to pursue the College portfolio program. I thought it would be…read moretoo difficult to combine it with my acting career and I was positive that the people who succeeded at Prima were probably just some "rare/special cases" ...but the curiosity to find out was just too tempting, so I decided to go for it and do the Portfolio, and I dove right in. At first it was a kick in the butt, I wanted to learn things "my way" and as a result of my stubbornness I didn't get the best results, but after finally conceding to the guidance I decided to let go of some preconceived notions and follow their advice. The breakthrough was immediate. Prima Materia accelerated method took hold and within a month I was lucky enough to auction a piece of my work from the sketching and drawing class. I have since built a knockout portfolio, finished the program, and now have a website. Also the true gifts have been the relationships I have made along the way in those classes as well as the internal transformation that took place from having completed the Portfolio program. I now have confidence in my ability to share my voice through art, something I didn't have before I took my leap of faith. Super happy! It's the best thing I've ever done with my time. There is so much joy. It's been a gift.

I joined Prima Materia when I was around 10, and I can say that my 7+ years with Olya and Nikusha…read moretruly changed the way I see the world. I've grown not only as an artist, but also as a person. I took part in the portfolio program, where I was able to take all classes and have weekly meetings with Olya to learn from her 30 years of experience. First, the techniques taught at Prima Materia are unlike what I have seen anywhere else. I learned how to create art with numerous materials, including unconventional ones like toothbrushes and clay made of newspaper. Olya and Nikusha are extremely well versed in which specific brands or types of art materials to buy, which ones are economical, and which ones can/should not be used together. Furthermore, Olya's Russian art education combined with her versatile and contemporary approaches to art help her teach in a way that is almost freeing. She's really helped me strike a perfect balance between academic drawing and taking creative liberties. This is especially important to me because as a scientist and STEM-focused student, I have always been bent on perfection and planning. As a result, my art would often turn out stiff and lifeless. Through the unique techniques she taught and our meetings together, Olya taught me to let go and give into randomness, chaos, and chance surprises in art. I learned to stop caring about the end result, take risks, and make myself uncomfortable. This has helped me achieve freedom from my restrictive mindset, find enjoyment in a process that previously stressed me out, and create art that is uniquely beautiful. After being in the portfolio program for a few years, what I think is special is that Olya truly cares for her students, and is willing to go the distance to help us achieve our artistic and personal goals. She notices what students are struggling with(for me, perfectionism and being unhappy and controlling with my art), and personalizes her help and feedback, spending extra time with us to help us advance as artists. She is also very eloquent and knowledgable. I always enjoy my time talking to her about new artists and techniques I find, and I aspire to have her level of intellect. Finally, Prima Matria has a plethora of classes for anyone, no matter the skill level. From a 10 year old until now, I have always found that the classes and art projects have challenged me a perfect amount; this has allowed me to refine my skills as an artist at an exceedingly fast rate. Even in classes teaching foundational skills, we have the option to take the project to the next level. Other art teachers are often astonished by how quickly and accurately I can draw, along with how fast I can pick up new techniques, because this is something that is trained through the rotating courses at Prima Materia. Plus, i have so much fun! Art classes were always a highlight of my week! I have an extremely busy schedule with a lot of research and extracurriculars, so the figure drawing classes I took made me feel like I could finally relax. Although this is already an extremely long post, I still could say a ton more about why Prima Materia's portfolio program is so great. I think one of the best choices I've made(ever!) was to take that initial workshop at Prima Materia. Because if I had not joined years ago, learned under the expertise of Olya and Nikusha, and met all of the other artists in the warm, supportive community we have, I would have missed out on a lot of joy and definitely would not be the person I am today!

Wow! This place is GREAT! We had an appointment for a private party/class for 8-9 ladies. The…read morelocation is great. There is an ABM Parking lot right across the street from the East Curb line, $10 for 12hrs of parking, on a Saturday Night that is great for downtown. The staff here was Wyathe and Shelby. They were very good with teaching our group the ways to produce beautiful pottery. The class is $90/person and that includes the instructional 45mins class plus 1 pottery item. If you want to add more items, it's $10/additional item. With the time I had left I opted to do 1 additional item. This allowed me to form and create another small bowl to complete a set of 2. I plan to use them for individual rice and meat dishes at work lunch. Wonderful party, we were allowed to bring light Hor d'oevres and juices and water for the group. Nice time and I highly recommend.

My boyfriend and I wanted to do pottery together for Valentine's Day, and I'm so glad we booked…read morewith Pinch Pottery! There were a few other couples in our session, but it still felt intimate and personal. For $150, we were able to make three creations of anything we wanted during the 1 hour and 30 minute class. We had so much fun the entire time. The studio itself is super cute and clean, which made the experience even better. Pinch is such a perfect way to introduce yourself, your partner, or your friends to pottery. If you're new, they teach you the basics and guide you through everything if you need help. They also have a ton of different glaze colors to choose from, which I loved. Definitely will be coming back again!

I've been driving by this place for months and even with drive by glances it always sounded really…read morecool without knowing what it was. I finally pulled over to grab a flyer, and ending up quickly after signing up for the Wednesday paint to music class with zero idea basically of what to expect. I do paint etc, but truly beginners and every person of every ability are perfect for this class, which really is about expressing your unique style and feelings and self ! I was most pleasantly surprised by how the class just felt like such a sweet community meetup. It was so fun to hear everyone's stories and see it represented in their art; each painting was so so amazing in its unique style and all were so different. Additionally, the studio with the paint walls is so cool and having the freedom to dance and throw paint and get messy was truly just so refreshing and relaxing.

I have attended this studio several times as an art student and enjoyed the "Paint to Music"…read moreexperience. Of course, when it came to booking a special day for a team of colleagues, I was excited to have them experience this joyful creative workshop as well. I made a studio reservation with the owner Tish and paid a premium rate to have a guided experience for the group before she was open to the public. Before the event, I signed a contract with Tish, where she had listed the goals of the rental as "Creative experience for team building and reducing stress" Unfortunately, Tish forgot that she had double booked the studio-- so our time at her venue was not exclusive. During our reservation, the space was shared with another group, it was loud, and Tish was disorganized. It was not the "stress-relieving" experience that was outlined in our goals. Tish is a kind person with a unique artistic perspective, however, I would not make a reservation with her again- as I feel she is not as organized as she could be.

I love the bright open feeling of the new studio. (Today was my first day in the new space.) Annie…read moreis a patient teacher. She helped me with all the basics and then the challenges when I tried something new. She also has helped people with a lot of experience refine their technique and also top take on new challenges. The studio has the warm feeling of a community and now that we are in a new, larger space, there is finally room for a few more potters.

Popped in to check this adorable little shop out. Possibly greeted by the owner. No greetings…read morewhatsoever, just a big "No openings, try other pottery shops in San Diego" with a smile. How disappointing. I guess we will check out other shops for our creativity.

Got some gorgeous coasters from Ramona McNamee, one of the glass artists in Studio 19. She made…read morethem from "blackberries and cream" glass made by the Glass Hut in Oceanside. So beautiful! Some other studios had better earring collections but these were gorgeous and it was fun to come when Ramona was manning the studio (since it's an artists' collective and different artists man the shop on different days). #BuyLocal! Spanish Village Balboa Park has the best gifts - including to buy gifts for yourself!!

My daughter took a ceramics course here and she loved it! The instructor was great- very patient…read moreand detailed. The studio is in a convenient location with lots of parking close by.

Overview: loved this beginner class, great instructions and demo, beautiful finished product…read more ---- I saw their place on instagram and they had a special price for their anniversary, their 90-min wheel class was for $50 instead of their usual $80. I've thrown on a wheel in the past but this was a great opportunity to refresh those days! Parking was a little difficult, there is a paid parking lot, but luckily I was able to find street parking. Very clear demo and explanations, with a small class size (I think there was 8 of us). Our instructor Cristina does the demo first and then we try it and she is there to help us if needed. Once you finish your projects you can engrave designs into your pieces so I drew a little cat face on the bottom of the bowl. Unfortunately bc it was on the bottom of the bowl where the glaze pools, it was basically hidden by the glaze :( I wish I had known beforehand, then I would've chosen a better placement for the face. If you tilt it in the right lighting you can see the cat, but it's a beautiful bowl regardless! I like that they take care of everything else after you make the pieces, they trim, glaze, and fire it for you and you just have to be patient and wait for that email to come through that your piece is ready for pick up (4-6 weeks). From the class (3/7) to getting the bowl in my hands (4/10) took a month and a few days, due to the many pieces they have to fire. They have specific days and times for piece pick-up which they list on their email. ---- Overall: a great time for beginners or people with past experience, I'm happy with my piece and it reignited a dormant passion!

Versatile creative work space for budding artists and art professionals. Charming interior that…read moreoffers visual stimulation and access to new and re-purposed art materials for creative play. A wonderful locally owned and operated small business that is great for workshops, art parties and art classes.

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