Such a fun date night idea. My boyfriend and I went the night before the Chiefs home opener and we…read morepainted Arrowhead stadium. It was a small class so it felt personable and the artist walked us through each step. She would even offer to help if we needed correcting. This place is not a BYOB but there is a pretty full bar with decent prices. You can bring your own snacks but there are pretzels and candies to munch on. I enjoyed this and so did my boyfriend, I saw a side of him I never knew! I highly recommend this. My only complaint was the class went about 20 minutes over. The breaks could have been shorter as the class was so small.

Received this as a gift - $70 for two people so I went with a friend to do dirty pour workshop! It…read morewas pretty fun and they gave us a good tutorial on how to do to the painting. We unfortunately had to leave the paintings at the store since they weren't dry..... biggest mistake!!! We've called, texted, and left voicemails since July (it's now November) to get the paintings back but they never are available and it got to the point where they said they would mail them, nothing has come through! I've texted and left 3 voicemails and now they don't even call me back because I think they know they just threw out or painted over our paintings by now. Very disappointed with the management here. Not worth losing $70 over this company and will mention to anyone considering to do wine and paint workshops in KC to never visit Thirsty Palette.

First picture was our own painting from 2/17, 2nd picture is what the instructor did as she was…read morewalking us through. 3rd photo is a reference of what we did with them 2yrs ago. Our first experience with them 2 years ago was great, it was done at a good pace, party size was small and intimate. You had time to ask questions the artist could and would stop and give you some Individual attention if needed. Now the experience we had last night was not good. We had a full class there was 6 couples in total. Our canvases were not ready when we arrived, we stood in the lobby and didn't have direction on what we needed to do or goad there wasn't anyone to greet us. So we decided to walk in and stood there until someone gave us a spot to sit in. She apologized for running behind as we had to wait for her to outline 12 canvases, she said the class size blew up at the last minute and they didn't have the time needed to be prepared ahead of time since they had to make an emergency supply run. Not a big deal! 45min later we start the actual instruction she said it would be speed painting techniques. The instruction went so fast that no one in the class could keep up, at one point someone spoke up and said we aren't ready as we were all several steps behind. What should have been 2hrs of painting and instruction turned in to a 1hr and 15min painting class. We all felt rushed and overwhelmed with the pace she was leading us at. My wife asked for support/help at the end once several couples left. She stopped by for a second but really didn't offer much support she left her board with my wife for reference but went back to cleaning up from the class. Overall it was not the same experience we had the first time, as we didn't feel we were given the same level of care or time to walk away with something we would be happy to hang up in our home. Overall we didn't have a good experience lastnight and as a small business I feel that there roadblock of not being ready for our class affected us and the quality of our experience as they rushed our class to finish on time as the previous class ran late so ultimately we suffered from that. And I don't feel they took the proper steps to make the moment right. We are unsure if we will reserve a class with them again.

My family and I visited for the first time and had such a great experience with Tamara! She was…read morekind, friendly and patient! We'll be back!

Love MOD. Any first fridays this is the place to be, it gets bumping! Upgrade from my underage…read moredays-live DJ is usually spinning now, setting a rad vibe. What hasn't changed one bit? The Titos sponsored bar that is donation only for Titos straight up and mixers range from $3-$4 and the drinks are always poured right for a Friday night...especially if you opt for that straight Titos option. The art work is pretty trippy, sometimes borderline contemporary but never "dark", with painted mannequins dotting the gallery that have been there for well over five years now. And walking back through the disheveled art storage space to get outside to the back bar, that barely faces crossroads-through terrain of parking lot and city street and crossroads parking lot-is always a fun journey, if you pay attention to the rejected art destined to this purgatory you may even see something that catches your eye-I know I have! Sometimes on first fridays the music spills over to the back bar setup, or back alley if you wanna get technical, and you get two different DJs and two separate white plastic cups with the TITOS logo on em haha. Support this local gallery, it's easy to find too because the front is "graf'ed" up or for those not in the know, graffiti is how they choose to represent the name MOD on the front of their building, so Next first friday make MOD your first and last stop-tip generously for your Titos and maybe buy some kc (alt) art while you're at it!

This is the place to be on First Friday…read more Part art gallery and part music venue. The art gallery rotates presenting artists. It also sells selected works and hosts interactive events like painting classes. The music venue schedules mostly electronic and dance-based performers. The events are usually scheduled on weekend evenings however special events will pop up from time to time. It's a little small inside, but the sound is pretty good. Lights are okay. A cash bar with limited beers and mixed drinks is available.

Great little art spot! …read more.. Located at 19th and Troost in Kansas City Missouri, The Bunker Center for the Arts is a Gallery and active studio space meant to combine museum style exhibitions with artists workspaces in a unique labyrinthine office building that hasn't been updated since the 70's.

Hard to find and make sure you verify the hours very small place taking more than 30 to 45 minutes,…read morebut totally worth it. Incredible local artist very vibrant nice people that work there off the beaten path. Plus, it's free so you can't complain about the value.

Almost a year after graduating from KCAI's 4 year program, I might finally be ready write a fair…read moreand honest review of my experience there. Initially, I had started this draft while still in school and I was only going to give it two stars, but I think midterms or finals or critiques may have been swaying my views at the time. I was at KCAI from 2007-2011. One thing that makes KCAI so unique is their Foundations Program, which is basically what they call their Freshman year program because it is a very intense, extensive, crash course in all mediums to help you decide what you want to commit to in the following years and pursue your BFA in. I enjoyed every class I took during my freshman year. After the foundations program, I decided to major in Painting. The painting building is the nicest building on campus, if you ask me. It's only a few years old and definitely has the best studio and gallery spaces. My sophomore year, I took David Harrison, who turned out to be one of my favorite teachers at KCAI. His teaching style is a little less conventional and he openly embraces experimentation and nontraditional painting means. I took an elective class with him my senior year and it was equally enthralling. Junior year, I studied under Warren Rosser. At the time, Warren and I butted heads a lot and I had the WORST year of my life, hard critiques, questioning my work, blah blah blah. But in hindsight, I did learn a lot from Warren. Him questioning me and pushing me all of the time really made me learn how to stand up for my work and stop second-guessing what I was doing. He was just teaching with tough love. Most other students adore the ground Warren walks on because he is so well-known in the art world and has definitely made a name for himself. My senior year, Eric Sall stood in for a semester while Julie Farstad was on maternity leave. It was Eric's first time teaching and I am definitely glad that I had the opportunity to work and study with him. There were a few bumps in his teaching techniques, but all in all, I had a good experience with him. Second semester, Julie Farstad came back and it was definitely the best semester of my KCAI years. Julie is simply amazing. She is an outstanding educator. She knows what she is talking about 99% of the time but isn't afraid to admit she doesn't the other 1%. She gives a hearty workload and has high expectations and offers wonderful advice when struggling through your own artistic battles. I don't think I can really put into words how wonderful of a teacher she is. The only teachers I had unpleasant experiences with were adjunct teachers who are all no longer there. The long-term staff is definitely cash king. Some of my favorites were Dwight Frizzell (digital media), Hal Wert (art history), Stephen Cromwell (art history), Rush Rankin (liberal arts), Jordan Stemplemann (liberal arts), Karen Komp (art history)... there are plenty more, but there are my top tops! The campus is clean and beautiful. I lived in the dorms for a year and it was definitely an interesting experience. The rooms are typical dorm rooms. You can have single sex or co-ed floors. Shared bathrooms. Cleaning and maintenance staff is friendly and efficient. The cafeteria was decent when I lived there, but I honestly never ate in there after my freshman year, so I can't vouch for it now. But all in all, I would say I had a good experience at the Kansas City Art Institute and I would recommend the painting program to anyone.

Impressive exhibits! Well worth the time to meander through. Wide variety of works on display.read more

Englewood Arts Center is a bright spot in Independence nestled in the neighborhood of Englewood…read morelined with majestic homes and boosts local shops such as Four Corners Framed Art, Englewood Cafe for breakfast n lunch and Vivilore restaurant. The art center sits in a remodeled medical building and founded by a grassroots community initiative that has transformed a vacant building into something very special. The Third Friday Art Walks, a monthly event throughout the Englewood Arts District is a lot of fun as one Friday they were having glassblowing demos. They even offer an entry level 101 class for get started burning glass. How cool! A new addition to the outside are these very tall flowers which was a public community art project where the petals, painted by the community, were welded on and made out of fan blades bought from the restore in Independence plus chandler parts and house items adding to parts of the flower. The arts center is managed by Amie Jacobsen, an artist herself and Ty Peyton Follis Admin coordinator Another gem in one of our Kansas City neighborhoods. Englewoodarts.com

A large multi floor building with public sculpture and murals outside and an interior with spaces…read morefor gallery exhibits, artist studio rental, events space, classes, glass blowing, and a cool little gift shop. I was completely amazed by the selection of artists on display and the scope of the art. On my Saturday afternoon visit, I was able to see two exhibits. The first was "Confluence'; a collaboration of their 8 resident artist using mixed media - a beautiful and varied media exhibit. Upstairs I witnessed "Faces After Suicide" a very powerful exhibit from Lindsey Doolittle featuring drawings from her suicide survivors support group. I was able to chat with her and gain a deeper understanding of all the emotions that a suicide survivor must endure. A conversation that I'll always remember. Thank you Lindsey and Englewood Arts for this exhibit. And of course the gift shop is right on the way out the door and has a great selection with very reasonable prices. I secured a glass heart for my wife's upcoming birthday. I will return for all future exhibits and it will definitely be a place to pick up some local art for Christmas gifts this year.

I'm in love with my ear rings and are getting so many compliments…read more The quality is amazing, the designs are unique, the variety is great and the prices for the mental work is reasonable. I ordered Christmas gifts and they all came wrapped with dried flowers. Great jewelry and packaging!

Meritmade's Essentials Collection is just perfection. Between my daughter and I we likely have the…read moreentire collection. It's beautiful for daily wear and dresses up perfectly. Sadly I'm spoiled and it's about the only thing I wear!

If you're big into ceramics and blown glass this is a great stop. They have a small retail shop…read morewith unique glazes and clays for your next project. They also have a studio/shop for rent and offer classes on different mediums. They have some super cool sculpture art to look at but it isn't very big. Entrance was a bit hard to find as there isn't much signage to direct you but it is on the side of the building.

Belger Crane Yard Studios is another one of those hidden jewels that make you realize that Kansas…read moreCity is such an incredible place to be if art is your passion - creating, collecting or appreciating. In a renovated commercial space, east of The Crossroads and literally "across the tracks" on a dead end street that offers a great view of the skyline and rail alley graffiti, BCYS is a studio space and gallery for all things ceramic. I attended a holiday open house and was blown away by the amount of artists that were showing and selling their amazing craft. This city is on fire with talent! The main entrance on the south side of the building opens into a large space with industrial wooden beams and natural lighting from the windows that are 20' up and encircling the space. Several exhibits were on display while a lecture was under way with dozens of artist discussing and peddling their creations. A perfect blend of commerce and art.