We had such a great experience at Clay Life Art Studio for our 4-year anniversary. My husband and I…read morebooked a private wheel-throwing lesson, and it turned out to be one of the most memorable things we've done together. David, the owner, welcomed us into the studio and gave us a tour before we started. He taught us the basics and all the important things to know when working on the wheel. He was incredibly informative, hands-on, patient, and welcoming--and also really funny, which made the whole experience even more relaxed and enjoyable. It was our first time trying wheel throwing and we had so much fun that my husband and I couldn't stop talking about it afterward. We each made two pieces, and for beginners I think we did pretty well lol! We were honestly so excited to come back and pick up our creations. The staff and members were also super friendly. One of the members asked if we were doing a lesson and when we said yes she told us we would have a great time--and she was not wrong. They also offer memberships if you're interested, and the studio has a very welcoming, community-based vibe. If you've ever wanted to try pottery or are looking for a fun and unique date idea, I highly recommend it.

I book an appointment for the private wheeling throwing class via email. David (the instructor) was…read moreresponsive and made it easy to book the appointment. After checking in and putting our stuff away, David started the class by showing use how everything works and gave us a demonstration of how to make a bowl. Not gonna lie, I got lost while watching him make it. After the demonstration, we got started on working on our own bowl. David is super patient and fun. He made sure we knew what we were by guiding us through each step of the way. He was hopping between me and my friends throughout the whole time. For our second piece, we had the freedom to make whatever we wanted to and he would be there to help us through the way. We got to choose the glaze color for each of our pieces and the final product should be done 3-4 weeks after the class. Can't wait to see the final product. Bathroom: There's 2 bathroom in the studio. The bathroom was clean and had scrubbers in case you wanted to get clay of your nails. Parking: Pretty easy as the studio is located in a little plaza.

I Have been taking adult art class with Inna for half year and making a lot of progress. Inna is an…read moreamazing teacher who tailors the teaching based on my level. I'm able to learn a lot from each session. For someone who has been learning painting from YouTube for two years, getting immediate feedback on my work makes a huge difference. Also, watching Inna doing demos are simply rewarding and nothing short of wonder. Furthermore, Inna creates an inspiring environment that makes me want to do better each time and also learn from each other. The class is both serious and fun. Although still new to the field, I now approach painting in a different and more principled way. Would highly recommend the class to anyone who is interested in pursuing art in any capacity.

I have been learning to paint at Art Academia for about 2 years. Inna is a really talented artist,…read moreshe is very knowledgeable, patient, polite and is a great teacher! With every class I learn something new and feel absolutely accomplished! Lessons have been focused on a wide variety of topics like landscape, still life, portraits, different techniques of painting with pallet knife, brush. You're welcome to use any medium as well! During this pandemic, Inna has been able to beautifully adapt to teaching online over zoom and gives personal attention, it's almost like a private class! I consider myself fortunate to have found Inna as my art teacher and I would highly recommend Art Academia to any one who is passionate about art and would want to learn and grow into an artist.

My 7-year old daughter recently discovered a love for this place after trying their holiday…read moregingerbread house kit that she was able to do with their instructional video on YouTube. We since went back for a 1:1 session with the owner Phil and he patiently helped my daughter with a custom clay project of a little dog character that she likes. It was easy to make an appointment for the class and my daughter can't wait for her next one.

Drop in class on Saturday morning for two kids (7yo, 8yo) - highly recommend!…read more Each child got to select their own project and completed it by the end of the session. There were so many age appropriate samples for the kids to choose from. Pricing varied pending on project. Staff was friendly and great with kids. We will be back again!

A wonderful place! Both our daughters (age 9 & 12) LOVE Art Attack! We have attended several…read moresessions and camps. The work they produce is incredible and they look forward to it every week. Wonderful staff and highly recommend!

Our son (7) loves taking classes here. He's really blossomed in his artistic development. It's…read morebecome something in his life he really looks forward to.

We celebrated my daughter's 7th birthday at Happy Picasso Art Class in Millbrae and had an amazing…read moreexperience! Booking and planning were easy with great communication from the staff. They helped with setup and created the perfect unicorn-themed art class for the kids. Think paint night for kids, with lots of staff support for the little ones. My daughter and her friends had such a blast, highly recommend for kids' birthday parties!

Our daughter is 5. She's always been very interested in puzzles, coloring/drawing, crafts, etc so I…read moreknew I wanted to enroll her in art classes. We tried a free art class here and I got to sit in the class. The teacher was very patient and taught her to first draw each line curve etc then they used oil pastels to color, next they used water paint to paint, then they used clay to make dirt. Our trial class is the excavator picture you see. We were very amazed at how much she learned in that one session. We enrolled her immediately. There are multiple make up sessions throughout the week if you need to miss your regularly scheduled class for vacation etc and option to do one on one make up class as last resort as well. We love the staff here and know she'll be in good hands and learn more of her passion here. There's multiple classes going on at the same time based on different art class levels. I've seen kids make sushi with different color clays etc and I've seen kids sketching when I'm pick up or dropping off my daughter so there's definitely lots to learn. I can see why happy Picasso is so popular around here after trying it out myself. When my daughter turns 7 and if she's interested, they also offer digital art class which will be useful for her in the future as well. Teachers here are very patient with the students. The kids also earn stamps each class and can trade them for prizes too. Very fun and motivating environment. 5 stars! And thanks.

It was an excellent course with a great atmosphere, and Rosaura was very good at explaining the…read moreinstructions. You should invite Richard to teach courses--we'd love to see him there again.

Inflexible and rude- God forbid you have any urgent or emergent conflicts preventing you from…read more attending a class within their 10day window. No opportunity to slate you as waiting list candidate for future classes - I have a family wedding out of town and made the mistake of scheduling this class way too far in advance. Hope she enjoys my 250$ for nothing - for her goose egg.

I started here 3 years ago as a beginner when they opened and have taken probably ~10 classes from…read moredifferent staff members. I also brought my team from work here a couple times + other neighboring teams for team events and folks loved it and enjoyed that it was a departure from the normal things my company does - everyone also walked away with nice pieces for that. After 3 years I wanted to give back and I'm about to start being an occasional instructor here for the next session, so I wanted to be transparent about that, but I'm not being compensated or nudged to write this review and I should've written it long ago. Things this studio is great for: * Community/third-space - I expected to take a class or two and then buy a wheel at home. I never expected that Clayroom would fill a hole in my life satiating a desire for community and connection I didn't know I had. Folks are really friendly here, and if you start showing up on a regular basis and occasionally say hi then you'll get to know people and build connections. * Seeing if the hobby is a good fit - do one of the 1 day try-days * Beginners - you get unlimited studio access during your classes to come in and practice, and having taken intro with multiple instructors I can safely say the instructors are really great. I can also say that experiencing classes from different instructors in different sessions can be very helpful. * Intermediate+ - the classes for things like intro 2.0, next steps, gardenware fusion, surface design, etc are all really useful for leveling-up your game. Some of them like intro 2.0 are probably worth revisiting to get more practice, since classes are jam packed with useful content. * Team events - mentioned above, but many teams from my company have done events here and loved it/walked away with great pieces. * Members - the studio does a great job of taking care of its members; when there are needs in the studio I've seen them acquire tools or otherwise empower members. There's still lots of initiative to improve systems and make life better. * Staff - the staff is incredibly friendly and helpful - they're a huge part of why I'm at Clayroom to stay :).

It's hard to put into words my appreciation for the Clayroom and the community at large. It has…read moreopened up a whole new creative world for me that didn't exist before my first class. Yes I always wanted to try ceramics and yes, I thought I might have an affinity for it, but I never would have expected it to change so much in my life in a positive way. The instructors here are something special. They have a rare ability to meet you exactly where you are -- whether you're a complete beginner fumbling through your first attempt at centering clay or someone who's been coming for months and is ready to push their skills further. They're generous with their time, patient without being condescending, and genuinely excited about what they do. That enthusiasm is contagious. What made me decide to become a member is the community. There's a warmth here that's hard to manufacture -- people cheering each other on and lifting one another up. It's a space where you can step away from screens and noise and just make something with your hands, surrounded by people who get it. I didn't expect to find that when I signed up for a ceramics class, but I'm so glad I did.

An awesome addition to San Mateo's expanding art scene. The owners and regulars are all very…read moregenuine people and a pleasure during any of the event nights they host. It's a very relaxed environment on their art nights, where you can have some drinks, look at art, listen to music, and enjoy the company. There's also several booths selling arts and crafts--lots of different ways to support local artists. It's a great hangout place for a Friday night, but they also do various art and craft classes. Check em out if you get a chance, there's no cover on the art nights, just a donations jar if you want to contribute.

Still the space for creatives of all backgrounds to come and mingle…read more Great space that helps groups come together to network, meet, speak freely and enjoy just good company, music and art!