Autumn is such a wonderful influence for my son. She is kind, creative, innovative and original…read more She has an incredible amount of talent translated into fantastic cool art projects that inspire your little ones to think outside the box in a meaningful way. Her thoughtful approach by really connecting with your child makes learning for him incredibly fun. He always comes home so excited about class. He will literally talk about class for an hour after picking him up and then randomly bring things up he did for the rest of the day. She really understands how to get your child enthusiastic about art and has so much knowledge she implements into the projects. Autumn always has a positive vibe you want to be a part of and my son just loves her!

My daughter has been taking art classes with Autumn for 2 years now and we both love her! She is…read morewonderful with kids, aware of their needs, patient and cheerful. Love the experiences that my daughter gets when in class with Autumn!

We had my Mia's 5th Birthday at Pachis, the birthday girl and all her friends had so much fun!!!…read moreApril and Leslie were so awesome with the kids. I shared with Kate that my Mia is a big fan of the Disney movie Descendants, and they totally decorated and creative an active that was so creative and paired so nicely with my daughter's birthday theme. But, at the same time gave the opportunity for each child to embrace their creativity and imagination. Thank you Pachis for a birthday to remember!!! #MiaFIFTHbday @miaNmilesMama

Pachis is such a great place to bring your kids if you a) need to let them explore art, b) need to…read morelet them explore art without feeling like you need to hover constantly, and c) if you want to meet a friendly, wonderful woman, Juliana. This place is GREAT. My kids were at ease with Juliana from the first moment we walked in, and they had a great time. They were not rushed, and anything they wanted to try, she brought it to them. We left with several pieces of art to hang in our gallery. And hello?! Painting with race cars?! My son's dream!!! There are so many treasures to look at, too- it was hard to not want one of all the beautiful hand-made items for sale. Juliana is also high-tech, had great music playing and was very easy to be around. We will be back, for sure!

Omg what a great birthday! Britney made painting fun and made sure it came out looking like a…read morebutterfly lol I will be booking with her again for sure I just love that she came out to my house and decorated and brought all the painting materials. Worth every cent!

I hired Brittany for my birthday. She came to my house on time to set up. I was still cooking and…read moremy friends showed up a little late. She was very accommodating and patient. She reassured me she just wanted me to have a good birthday and not to stress. I appreciate that because I was starting to stress lol once we finally got started she was a great instructor. I choose the Mandala's, which looks like it's for more advanced painters but she did a good job of simplifying it. Everyone enjoyed themselves and our painting came out good. She was an absolute pleasure to hang out with, she really "joined the party" everyone liked her. She took pictures of us and sent them to me right away and let me keep the painting she did. I thought that was sweet. Several of my friends have already used the kits from the party too add to their mandalas and make new paintings. The whole experience was definitely worth the price. Thank you Brittany for making my birthday memorable!

Love this place, take my son every week and he loves it ! They have the kids choose a reference…read morepicture from binders that are set at different levels/ages. The instructors are patient and interactive. They work with different medians and he leaves with a drawing almost every week. Definitely recommend this place

This location was closed during COVID-19, so sad, we love it a lot, but too far to go to the other…read more2 locations.

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!

Annie G has a good selection of art and stamping-related products. She runs great sales quite…read moreoften, and you can get good deals. Check out her samples for some art inspiration! You will be happy you did!

Love this studio. Ann is really fun and helpful. Always great to come and work on my projects on…read moreFree Craft Friday.

My kids learned all kinds of art in private and group lessons.  They learned how to work with…read moredifferent media ( glass, textiles, wood, clay, printing). It was awesome, fun creative, and innovative--Plus the kids couldn't wait for the following lesson!   Highly recommended!!!!! No other class like Polak's available!!!!!

Bought an art class session on Group on for $80. Five days Monday thru Friday for hour and a half…read more My daughter loved it. She's 9 and at the top of age range for the class. Small class size under ten kids. Super personal instruction and individual expression. Macey was inspired just by the at displayed all over the place. She's already asking for additional classes. Mr. Frank is the artist/owner/instructor and facilitated the class impeccably. Highly recommend to any Oceanside kids. Alsop classes for adults and a weekly random walk in art expression class. This place is a green that oceanside desperately needed.

Called and they stated this business went out of business in September for anyone wondering . :(read more