My daughter has gone to art summer camps for a few years now and has always enjoyed the classes and the instructors. She is now part of the Anime Club and really enjoys it. read more

Best little art school! The teachers are all so welcoming and kind! My daughter is in one of the morning art classes and she loves it! Ms. Mariah is so kind and treats all the kiddos with equal care. It's a safe space for them to be themselves and create without judgement. We will be taking classes here for as long as they are open. I can't wait to get my son in the class and I am even looking into taking a class myself. The tuition is so worth it. read more

Great place! We went for a birthday party and my daughter loved it. The teacher is very patient and super nice with kids. Would love to go back again. Highly recommend read more

We are on our 2nd year with Inspyr Arts and we couldn't be happier. My son loves his classes. The teachers are talented, kind and informative. We are very grateful we found Inspyr Arts. We are also a homeschooling family and they work with our charter. They make the process very easy read more

Amazing space and teachers!! Had my daughters 7th bday party for 10 and couldn't have asked for a better experience! Staff is super helpful from booking to finish, large space for parents/kids to hang out and snack in between activities. They let you bring in food, they are very reasonably priced and instructors are great with the kids. Best birthday venue we've had, I can't recommend this unique spot enough. You can tell it's a labor of love and it shows. Thank you inspyrarts!! read more

So impressed with Inspyr Arts. They focus on where the child is with fine motor art skills and go forward. My son is quite a critic but is so proud of his work each time and so are we - so incredible. They teach technique that the kids can then bring home and back into their classrooms! Thank you to the inspiring and compassionate staff! read more

My daughter has been attending this art school for about a year and we love it! The staff is the best. They're ALWAYS so friendly and helpful but most importantly they're so great with the students. read more

This review has been a long time coming, but it has been a privilege for our 10th grader to take art (and until recently, Sewing) classes with Inspyr Arts on 4th Street in Long Beach. In the little over two years we've been with them, Inspyr Arts has been more than accommodating with our crazy schedule, and super-encouraging when it comes to trying new media, as well as fresh approaches to methods more familiar. Since adding Inspyr Arts to our weekly schedule, we've seen our daughter's work metamorphose in imagination and sophistication. It's strange to see the word "sophistication" used in charcoal and pastel drawings and aprons and upcycled tee-shirts, but there you have it. To start with, the 4th Street studio is professionally equipped with proper artist tables, paints, brushes and (when they had Sewing) sewing machines. We've signed up with other art schools before, but none of them provided individual work stations for each child. The fact that Inspyr Arts does is integral to instilling our child with a sense of personal ownership of her work the minute she enters the classroom. That is not to say that Inspyr Arts does not encourage group work. On the contrary, in the two years we've been with them, our daughter has participated in myriad community activities, from painting a table-top for a local cafe to spending an afternoon at the Belmont Shore Art Walk event in Long Beach, to beautifying unsightly graffiti tagged on their wall (Note to tagger: you could benefit from lessons at Inspyr Arts) before cleaning it up per city regulations. What you do have that is obvious from the beginning is a sense of mission from the owner and staff of the school: Inspyr Arts seeks to not only make their students realise the visions they have in their minds, they seek to help each student do so in a thoughtful, creative and wondrous way, so that each piece of art produced is valuable, not just to the student artist and family, but to the community at large. Which brings about two other important aspects of this fine art school: the teachers and the nature of the work produced by the kids. First, the teachers are very, very good. They are not only artists themselves and professionals in their field, they are also incredibly dedicated teachers. In addition to being extremely accommodating with our crazy schedule, they know how to work with the most stubborn of students, and part of their success lies in the fact that they actually *create* opportunities for students to be leaders. We're really grateful for the fact that they offer summer internships. Unpaid, true, but nevertheless an incredible opportunity for students. This is a place where artists learn to be more than just observers of their community: they are given the chance to actually improve their community, and other than the ways already mentioned above, also in the form of field trips to draw and paint on-site, both indoors and outdoors. We are also appreciative of the number of fun events they hold to encourage team-building and a sense of ohana, like their recent Teen Night and summer picnic. The second aspect to touch on is the nature of the work produced by the students. They are impressively mature and evocative of emotion (excuse my excesses!) in an unexpectedly short time. Rather than the kind of work you see in a typical classroom where the kids produce work that only doting parents and relatives would put up on the wall, Inspyr Arts students put out work that can be appreciated professionally. Many parents don't treat art as something that can be learned or even something that should be considered as a career past middle school. Inspyr Arts conducts their classes with the mindset that every student is a hidden Van Gogh, Da Vinci, O'Keefe or Kahlo. It is this expectation of genius that the teachers have of the students that the students end up producing work that is way more complex than you would see in a more ordinary classroom. To this end, the syllabus they have is comparable to college and university standards: the students are not just exposed to one medium when they sign up for classes. They are taught to draw not just what they think they should see, but also what they actually *see*. They are taught to express themselves on canvas, paper, wood, glass, cloth, mosiac, with pastels, chalk, water colour, graphite, thread, glue. They are taught not to be afraid: of sketching total strangers in a coffee shop, plein air painting by the Colorado Lagoon, book binding and anime drawing, fashion illustration, trying something different, something new. If you cut a piece of material differently from the pattern, it's not "wrong", it's putting on your personal touch. There is no freaking out, no restarting, no waste. It's two Christmases now that our daughter has surprised us with her hand-formed gifts, including a blouse she sewed for me - which has been uploaded to their Facebook page. We cannot wait for more! read more

I can't believe I've waited so long to write this review! I'm a teacher. A few of my co-workers/friends attended an art night specifically for teachers. It was completely free and many of us received a class set of supplies, art notebooks, pastels, etc. just for attending. I won a free art lesson for my class (yippee!). I loathe teaching art so this was perfect for me and I used my free lesson in June 2013. Two women came and delivered the best art lesson I've ever been part of. We did a gold mining scene as I teach 4th grade. I sat down and did it with the students and my miner turned out to be pretty chic as he panned for gold. I was so impressed with their professionalism, their ability to connect to my students, their dedication to children and the community. read more

Such an amazing art studio! My two sons attend here and it is one of the highlights of their week. Veronica, the manager, is so organized and prompt in her responses. She is one of the sweetest people I have ever met! All of the instructors have a "knack" with kids. My only wish is that they would offer a more generous sibling discount... but that won't prevent us from continuing on with them. read more

They do a wonderful job of teaching the kids different mediums with patience and guidance. In this way my daughter learns more than just the water colors used at my house. Their "curriculum" provides a structure to the kid's work that shows development over time! Pretty neat to see their skills develop, even back at home. Because of our schedule we come at most twice a month and it's nice that everything is kept in a folder and my daughter can pick up right where she left off without skipping a beat. read more

I really like the set-up they use here. Everybody has their own station and materials. I also like how the fact that the owners have a plan of instruction for the media children will be using, rather than it just being random. They use a logical path. This is what public schools should be doing today but the over focus on teaching kids to pass high stakes exams has forced teachers to drop this vital learning experience. Cuts in arts spending is also to blame so now we pay more for it, directly out of our pockets. How dumb is that?Anyway...come here and your child will love you for it. read more

My daughters have been attending Inspyr Arts for years - they absolutely love it. I am always amazed at the quality of the artwork they produce in their classes. The summer camps are fabulous too. We are so fortunate to have this wonderful school in our neighborhood. read more

This is a place for young scholars who are into art and have a desire to expand their creativity. Inspyr Arts brings out the creativity in the youth. Not to mention, they allow them to grow in their artistic abilities read more

This is a good Art School. My daughter enjoy visiting this studio and practicing with pastel chalk. She loves it!!! There are nice teachers and good place for art work. read more

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Great Instructors! Nice and Friendly. I highly recommend it to everyone!

Vicky, Inspyr Arts sponsoring free art programs in the community is wonderful. I am elated at this community service - Giving Back & Sharing your Blessings, a very good mission indeed. read more

This is an excellent studio! The space provides an intimate feel that allows the staff use to give their students individualized instruction in a semi-private setting. I highly recommend this studio if you're interested in developing your skills or even trying something new. Great for kids or adults. Vickie & her staff are knowledgeable, encouraging & yes, even inspiring, to their students. My kids always look forward to their weekly art lessons @ Inspyr. The pieces they produce are fabulous too. read more

My child has been attending this art studio. Vicky (owner) knows how to pick her instructors well. They are a talented group of artists who know how to teach a class of students at varied artistic levels at one time, they provide each student a customized learning experience. read more

My Cub Scout Webelos took a class to earn their Art Badge, and the staff here was so gracious and helpful. Miss Marilyn is the nicest person, and she teaches with smiles and gentle urging, keeping the students focused and attentive. The boys loved the class. My son, one of the Scouts, is also a student there so I have had many chances to see the work she, and the other instructors, coax out of the kids they guide. I would recommend them to parents and those seeking to give Art a try! 5 Stars read more

I Love this place! My daughter loves this place! My Daughter has been going to Inspyr Arts for about 6 months now and has really grown to be quite the little artist. Not only that, I took one of the complimentary Adult classes and I realized that I love watercolor pencils! They have a lot to offer for weekly art, summer camps and they are even expanding their facility to have a sewing section.....WOW so much to do for kids and even some adult classes. The owner Viccy is so wonderful and so are the instructors that she has on staff. I would HIGHLY recommend this art school to everyone who loves art or wants to start or improve their artistic skills!!!! read more

I can't say enough about this art school. They teach the children solid skills, while fostering creativity. The staff are kind and loving to the children, while gently keeping them on task. I love how my two oldest son's fine motor skills have improved - they really struggle with hand writing and this has helped immensely. Each piece of work they bring home is truly a work of art. The only problem is, I don't have enough wall space for them all!! Vicky is an amazing woman and I am so glad to have this neighborhood gem. Thank you to an incredible program and fabulous staff. We love Inspyr Arts! read more