I've been a student at Ichen Art Academy for over 4 years now, and needless to say, I've grown a…read morelot within my passion because of the instruction I received at this school. I came in with a love for art, but little knowledge in the technical aspects. Through Ichen's summer programs, I got to explore many different media including charcoal, oil painting, and digital. The academy's instructors are very well educated in the arts and provide a plethora of resources and materials to help me succeed. They provided guidance in composition, technique, color, etc. while motivating me to enter my art into competitions... ultimately which I won a few! Ryan, Ichen Art Academy's Artist in Residence, has provided me with fantastic support over the years. I got a perfect balance of instruction and freedom to allow for the full expression of my artistry. I never felt bored or unmotivated because the instructors constantly provide me with ideas and recommendations when I'm stuck. My AP and college application portfolios both contributed largely to my successful MIT application process, and I am forever indebted to my time at Ichen for this accomplishment.

Our two daughters have been taking art lessons at Ichen Art Academy for the last 7+ years (since…read moreelementary grade level). Initially, many years ago, we researched several art schools in the Bay Area, specifically in the South Bay, and even tried out a local one near our home for a year (and discovered the instruction was limited). Then we came upon Ichen Art Academy in Fremont, CA. Both our girls have always been creative but needed more instruction on art techniques and development. A major attraction to their art program was the variety of lessons provided to enrich one's mind to the world of art. Ichen Art provided classes on Sketching, Charcoal Drawing, Watercolor, Oil Painting, Chinese Calligraphy and Painting, and Digital Art. Our daughters took the foundational sketching class, which provided a very good opportunity to build one's art skills. The classes and programs offered are very structured and well organized. Their Fremont office manager, Jessica, has been very helpful with scheduling and class registration questions. In addition, not only is Ms. Ichen Wu (founder and principal) one of the instructors, Ichen Art also provides various specialized instructors for the art class offerings, from sketching to watercolor painting to oil painting to digital art to Chinese calligraphy, etc. It was very beneficial to see and learn art from various forms and perspectives. Besides providing art classes, Ichen Art also provides other opportunities for students to enrich their art potential and personal development. They work closely with the Youth Art Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps provide art students leadership training and development (in which our oldest daughter is the student Director of Art). Ichen Art also invites art models to come in and pose for live body art sculpture drawing lessons. Ichen Art has also helped students participate and submit their work of art to various local and national art competitions, where several students have earned top awards, including our oldest daughter. Their various instructors also act as counselors/consultants to help with questions and guidance for the students. Our daughter's oil painting instructor, Ryan, has shared some great advice and guidance on painting perspectives and creating a portfolio. The academy also host seminars and webinars for students and parents that cover topics on developing art portfolios and college preparation. Our oldest daughter in high school developed an interest in fashion design and Ms. Wu set up fashion design lessons with a local instructor, which eventually led to the development of a summer fashion design program at the academy (and our daughter became a teacher assistant/co-instructor for the program). The time invested in the Ichen Art Academy lessons and classes for our daughters have been very positive. Our oldest daughter's interest in fashion design has led to her college pursuits having been accepted to the #1 fashion school in the US. Overall, if you are looking for a great comprehensive art program with very positive results, check out Ichen Art Academy.

A wonderful place for children to learn techniques and develop their own style without a lot of…read morehand holding. Special shoutout to Ms. Ameneh, she is kind and patient and awesome.

Our son loves the level of creativity and self expression this lovely studio allows. The teachers…read moretruly care. We're so happy and plan to continue enrolling our son here!

I've been a student at Ichen Art Academy for over 4 years now, and needless to say, I've grown a…read morelot within my passion because of the instruction I received at this school. I came in with a love for art, but little knowledge in the technical aspects. Through Ichen's summer programs, I got to explore many different media including charcoal, oil painting, and digital. The academy's instructors are very well educated in the arts and provide a plethora of resources and materials to help me succeed. They provided guidance in composition, technique, color, etc. while motivating me to enter my art into competitions... ultimately which I won a few! Ryan, Ichen Art Academy's Artist in Residence, has provided me with fantastic support over the years. I got a perfect balance of instruction and freedom to allow for the full expression of my artistry. I never felt bored or unmotivated because the instructors constantly provide me with ideas and recommendations when I'm stuck. My AP and college application portfolios both contributed largely to my successful MIT and Harvard application processes, and I am forever indebted to my time at Ichen for this accomplishment.

Really good art school. All teachers are professional, knowledgable and nice. They are…read moreexperienced and tenured in their teaching, and have enough knowledge to know how to work with your child(ren) and help them improve. A nice clean facility also promotes learning. Additionally, I really appreciate how they are willing to work with you on your schedule --- and to accommodate make up classes as necessary. Highly Recommended!

They treated parents like they know nothing about art, they asked parents to sit outside while kids…read moreare in the classroom so that they can "educate" parents to be in sync of their teaching. The director gave a lecture to these parents and said something like "if you're only going to enroll your child for a short period of time then you might as well don't enroll your child because in order to see some results you need at least couple years." Art class should be a fun place with welcoming atmosphere, in art, you don't have to try to convince us or say much about it, it just shows it from how you interact with others.

My son had been in SoHo from age 6 to 12 (he is 13). This place indeed deserves 5 start rating…read more SoHo is not a random children art education organization. Before starting teach, all the teachers received a well training not only in art profession but also in children education. Regarding the curriculum, I am not sure what does that mean for "The Art curriculum they use are not American, but Chinese (from Taiwan), ". Yes, they teach Chinese Ink drawing in a very unique way, but my son also learned 3D house interior design, sculpturing using recyclable materials, sketching, water coloring, and a lot of different kinds of very creative curriculum. For me, the value of SoHo is not only learning different kinds of art skills, most important are that children here like art and learn to appreciate art.

She's an amazing artist. I have used her for my daughter's bday party celebration since my daughter…read morewas 1. We just celebrated her 10th bday party.

I hired Kyoko for face painting and balloon twisting for my daughter's 5 year old birthday party…read more I originally only booked her for 2 hours but I decided to hire her for the entire length of the party when after 2 hours, there was still a line of kids waiting to get a balloon or their face painted. During the party, guests kept asking me where I found her as they were amazed at the beauty and detail of her face painting art. Some guests were also interested in hiring her for their future events. Her balloon twisting skills were also amazing. She created a pair of angel wings that some of the girls wore thruout the party. The kids all loved having her there and she was very patient with the kids. Thank you, Kyoko for helping make the party so much fun!

I went to this art studio and the teacher was very disrespectful and very impatient never again.read more

Our two kids attended 4 weeks of Ran's Art Studio summer camp for first the time this year and they…read morethoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait to go back! Ran offered a variety of lessons from watercolor, digital art, painting, animation, ceramics, glazing, sewing, looming, crocheting, just to name a few. Ran and her teachers really cares for students to improve their ability, encourages students to go through the end-to-end process starting with a blank canvas and provides them with techniques to get to the end result, and even allows extra time after classes for students to wrap up their work. Ran is extremely easy to work with, provides a clean, safe & relaxing atmosphere, and maintains good communication with parents. We are looking forward to returning!

I saw the ad in bayarea parenting mag and took my son for free trail class, its a home based art…read morestudio, very neat and welcoming.My son really like the studio and teacher, very nice contemparary setup. nice place to check out if your kids loves to paint.

My daughter started the lessons at CSAD San Jose location 2 years back when she was about to start…read moreHigh School freshman with the goal to have a portfolio when applying college. Young Lee and Hee Lee are both very experienced teachers, Alex too who is very helpful on coaching, though my daughter hasn't decided what related major for college, she has done many different art pieces combining the creativity and skill set and one of her pieces has won the award from Growing Up Asian In America competition. Going to CSAD for lessons and spending time there for the art piece she works on has been the escape for my daughter from her busy academic schedule. I'm grateful to find CSAD, my daughter is on the right track to build her portfolio, that will also be a nice memory that she can bring with her to college that records her love for art.

If you are looking for a nice decent place to improve your drawing skills, this place should be the…read morebest fit for you. I met great instructors Young Lee, Hee Lee, and Alex there and I really appreciate that they are very dedicated to helping students' art skills. I was, honestly, just a beginner hoping to transfer to great art schools and it was hard to get the right path. However, I was capable of working on my portfolio with diverse and aesthetic ideas with great inspiration thanks to Alex. In addition, their experienced counseling helped me a lot to search for schools to transfer and preparation for the requirements. They are both great teachers and councilors in art education. Plus, their life drawing classes are very helpful to observe the human body and find own styles of drawing with various nude models.

My daughter has been very interested in Arts and Crafts and it has been taken to the next level…read moreafter joining Desi Studio. The instructor Priyanka has been very welcoming to our daughter and she is quite flexible in terms of timings and what is being taught. It has been a month and my daughter has learned a verity of things, like coloring a t-shirt, making cards, and clip holder.

From the owner: Studio Desi offers various types of creative activity classes and workshops for children (age 3-11)…read morelike - Basic shapes and forms - Sketching and shading - Water Color paintings - Crafting and model making - Creating Best out of waste - Lampshade making - Basic Glass painting - Bottle design - Mini canvas painting - Card making - Fabric painting - Henna design - Mixed Media artwork etc... Our motive is to utilize your children's time as creatively n' productively as possible, have lots of fun, learn to work in teams, and cheer each other. All the tools, materials and activities are kids' friendly.