I have been to The Hot Spot a couple of times now, the first time I made slime with my 4 year old…read moreniece. She and I had a great time, when i saw that someone had their birthday here, I knew I had to too. I reached out to them via Instagram and set up a date and time and it was simple and easy. You can even have outside food too, so I brought a pizza, cake, waters and chips and my friends brought snacks too. When I arrived with my friend, we were greeted and brought to our table. The team here are so sweet and kind, they decorated the table and painted Happy Birthday, it was soo sweet. Typical Virgo, bought a banner but didn't have to use it because they were so kind to do that for me. It was definitely busy and packed so I'm glad I made reservations, my friends all started to trickle in until our whole table for 20 was full. It's definitely Pick Your Own Adventure, most of us chose to paint pottery, while others made slime and create a mosaic, it was so fun. I ended up choosing a heart shape plate and painted it, it was so fun getting to celebrate my birthday with my friends painting cups and plates or guitars or whatever any wanted to do. We usually go and have a dinner or brunch so this was definitely a fun change. I had my nieces and nephew draw a little part on my plate, I can't wait to pick it up on Thursday!

Took my guy here for his birthday so we could do some ceramic painting together. Thank gawd they…read morelet you come back to finish because we took way longer than I'd like to admit on these, but they came out super cute! It can get really crowded on the weekends so be prepared. Would come back here especially since it's in a great location with plenty else to do. Great way to spend hours of fun with friends, family, or as a date.

We go in every year to celebrate birthdays. Plenty of items to choose from, super friendly staff…read morewilling to help even if you have never done this before. They are super patient and will teach you all the basics needed to create some beautiful items. Our youngest kid loves this place and now has the whole family going to create and just have fun away from all digital noise. They fire everything for you and take great care to ensure you get a good looking piece back. Can't say enough or share the appropriate nice things about these folks. Walking distance to great restaurants and shopping so really easy to plan a great day that includes a stop at this location. Parking is out front or across the street.

We were in SD for my birthday weekend getaway. We had reservations for a restaurant at dinner time…read moreso we had time during the day to do something so we decided to give pottery another go. We took a class at a pottery place in Laguna Beach last year so we wanted to give it a try again because it was pretty fun! We did the one time class pottery wheel try it class. It was $80 per person. Which is on the pricier side, compared to the other class we took last time. I will say this class was more informative than our last class. Our instructor taught us how to start working with our clay, demonstrated how to do it, worked with us, helped us out, showed us different techniques and steps on how to form our pottery. It's was definitely more challenging this time around because I think we didn't have to do as much in our last class we did. My boyfriend said he didn't like the pace of the class and having to work with a whole class. Our last class had less people so it was more intimate and slower, as for this class it was a little bit more of a faster pace. In the end we made 2 pieces. First one was like a practice piece and the second one was when you kind of got the hang of it and the final product looked better. We were only able to take one piece home. Our instructor said she typically does 2 pieces because she teaches faster but we are only able to take one. Honestly, I didn't like my first one too much so I was okay with that but I know some other people in the class wanted to take both. After you are done you have to clean up everything and put everything away. Then you chose the color glaze you want from a choice of 4 or 5. They glaze it for you then they tell you when it's ready for pick up. We are not from SD but it's an excuse to come back down to pick up our pottery.

Such a vibe! I loved seeing Latinx culture represented so beautifully throughout the artwork,…read moregifts, and handmade pieces they sell. Everything was colorful, creative, and full of personality--it was so much fun walking around and admiring all the cute and unique items! I ended up buying the most adorable chocolate pan dulce keychain, and I'm obsessed with it. Such a lovely place to find meaningful gifts while supporting talented, local artists and creators!

Happened to stop by as I was walking back to the parking lot and noticed what seemed to look like…read morea"Dia de Los Muertos" decor which made me curious. I walked in and realized this is some sort of Mexican shop where I'll be able to find lots of crafty stuff. Boy was I immediately mesmerized by all the fun crafts, especially the "pan dulce" stuffies which I think were like coin bags, some were conchas and the rest just regular pan dulce bags. There is lots to see and buy, and not to mention they have 2 other ships on the same street, per the sales associate who helped ring me up (couldn't leave without buying anything). This is a fun and colorful shop to find quirky stuff. From candy to clothing to crafts.

My daughter took a ceramics course here and she loved it! The instructor was great- very patient…read moreand detailed. The studio is in a convenient location with lots of parking close by.

Overview: loved this beginner class, great instructions and demo, beautiful finished product…read more ---- I saw their place on instagram and they had a special price for their anniversary, their 90-min wheel class was for $50 instead of their usual $80. I've thrown on a wheel in the past but this was a great opportunity to refresh those days! Parking was a little difficult, there is a paid parking lot, but luckily I was able to find street parking. Very clear demo and explanations, with a small class size (I think there was 8 of us). Our instructor Cristina does the demo first and then we try it and she is there to help us if needed. Once you finish your projects you can engrave designs into your pieces so I drew a little cat face on the bottom of the bowl. Unfortunately bc it was on the bottom of the bowl where the glaze pools, it was basically hidden by the glaze :( I wish I had known beforehand, then I would've chosen a better placement for the face. If you tilt it in the right lighting you can see the cat, but it's a beautiful bowl regardless! I like that they take care of everything else after you make the pieces, they trim, glaze, and fire it for you and you just have to be patient and wait for that email to come through that your piece is ready for pick up (4-6 weeks). From the class (3/7) to getting the bowl in my hands (4/10) took a month and a few days, due to the many pieces they have to fire. They have specific days and times for piece pick-up which they list on their email. ---- Overall: a great time for beginners or people with past experience, I'm happy with my piece and it reignited a dormant passion!

I took the 5-week Form and Function class with Misha, where I learned to throw, trim, and glaze for…read morethe first time. While I walked away with new skills and 4 pieces that I am proud of, I found Misha's style of instruction difficult to follow and unpleasant at times. Misha began the first class by telling us that she will intervene if she notices our projects going south. However, on multiple occasions she purposefully stayed quiet when a student was having trouble and then when it was too late to save the piece, she said, "I was waiting for you to ask a question." This resulted in students having to scrap their projects without time to retry. I understand that Misha aims to strike a balance between hands-on assistance and letting students figure things out on their own, but her lack of intervention felt like punishment for not following her instructions well enough. I also found it challenging that Misha structured her classes by verbally explaining all of the tasks of the day at the beginning of class. After this intro, she did not speak much for the rest of the class. During several classes, she began to work on personal projects and did not seem approachable for questions. I would have appreciated a few more demonstrations and for instructions to be repeated throughout the class. Because this was a class intended for beginners, I expected a bit more patience and active involvement from Misha. The 5-week course was structured well and allowed students to learn the entire process making ceramics, but the style of instruction made the course harder than it had to be.

I took the five week Form + Function course with Misha and it unfortunately wasn't the fun…read moreintroduction to pottery I was hoping for. I liked that the classes were structured around specific projects as it gave us direction in our learning, however I felt Misha did not always have the patience that is required when working with a class of beginners. I think she sometimes got overwhelmed working with the students (completely understandable as 5/7 students in the class had zero experience with pottery) but she allowed this to negatively affect her instruction and often became short when asked basic questions about projects/next steps. There was very little time allocated for experimentation and students were taught to only do things one particular way (Eg. Centering, opening up). While this was likely due to time constraints, alternatives do exist and when myself/other students would inquire about modifications when steps weren't clicking or something went wrong with our piece, Misha would tell us to "figure it out" or to trash our piece entirely. She also began every class ignoring students as we entered and only broke her silence once 3+ students had greeted her. I was able to create some pieces I am really proud of in the course, and I did learn a lot, but it didn't feel like an environment where I could truly enjoy myself and explore the craft. There is no doubt that Misha is talented, however I don't think she enjoys teaching, at least not beginners. I was hoping for a welcoming environment, and am discouraged to say Ho/Co often felt a bit hostile. Perhaps my timing was bad as I know Misha released a new collection on her Etsy shop during this time and maybe felt overwhelmed due to order volume? She often worked on pieces for sale during classes, so maybe she had too much on her plate and our class was simply a casualty of this. Regardless of the cause, I unfortunately would not recommend Misha's courses and will be trying out a new studio.

If You've never been to the Spanish Village art center before you need to go. There's all kinds of…read moreart media, including watercolors oils, acrylics, sculpture, jewelry, rocks, and minerals, and gifts of any kind. It's a wonderful place to do your birthday and holiday shopping. I was pleasantly surprised to see that all of the colorful paving stones had been newly painted. They had been looking quite faded for a long while. They also have a wonderful coffee cart and restrooms. I always enjoy the sculpture garden that is in the bath and I also enjoy the pottery studio where you could often see artist at work throwing their pottery.

Most recent visit to San Diego, made our first trip to Spanish Village Art Center. I had previously…read morelived in South Orange County for over 2 decades and never knew about this location. Very eclectic is the best way to sum it up in my opinion. Many different mediums of art on display. It also seemed you could take part in art classes there as well. The artists that were present during our visit to the Art Center were very friendly and willing to share how they got their bug for art as well as the different projects that were of most interest to them. Art Center seemed to be well maintained and very clean. If you are in the San Diego and haven't been to the Spanish Village Art Center, I would recommend you make plans to do so.

I am not into art. I don't like drawing, painting, pottery, you name it, I'm over it…read more But my friends were having a paint party so I said I'd come and drink with them, having no intention to paint. I got there and everything was set up. Joyce was nice and everyone settled in. She asked if I wanted to join and I laughed. Nope! My friends were like 'just try it' so, begrudgingly, I did. I was anxious because I just knew it was going to be so ugly if I did it, but Joyce said it was designed for kids even as young as seven and if she could help then make something beautiful, she could help me. You guys. I had so much fun. Joyce painted along with us and walked around giving instructions. I was pretty needy because I wanted my painting to be something I wanted to keep and she was very patient with me. It was way more fun than I expected it to be and I LOVED my painting so decided to book my own party. This is a super fun, inexpensive, group activity. Check it out!

What an amazing experience! Had so much fun painting with Joyce! She's very interactive and…read morehelpful. I enjoyed every second of it! Thank you! Will be back soon!

When visiting Old Town for some shopping, you will find a lot of the same Mexican painted pottery,…read morepanchos, knick-knacks and such. Most are exactly the same in looks and in price. At Kacha, they offer a few other things that are just a little bit different. Fortunately, I was visiting during the Muertos celebration and so I found some really cool (and different!) painted skulls. Prices were very reasonable here and the lady at the register was very helpful and sweet. Definitely take the time to stop in and look around. CHEERS!

Sightseeing in Old San Diego and doing a little bit of shopping. What a cute store to buy some…read moresouvenirs. Had to get the turtles with the shaking heads. Found a cool Frida Kaloh coin purse for myself. Other stuff to look at too.

Art on 30th has changed my life. It is my home away from home. My skills have greatly improved with…read morethe help of several fabulous classes and workshops. I even won an award at the Del Mar fair fine arts competition this year! Everyone is wonderful, and the creative energy I feel when I walk in the door is incredible. It's a healing environment. It is loving, important and beautiful. I'm so happy when I am there!

With a motto of "Create Joy, Grow For Life", this remarkable 2-story art center is the epitome of…read morewhat an artist is looking for. This welcoming creative hub has private art studios, a variety of art classes/workshops, artist opportunities and much much more. It's easy to find on 30th being in the heart of North Park with a community of its own cultivating up and coming artists as well as intriguing art lovers like me by their profound art shows/exhibits in which I had a pleasure of attending one of them in October. Brilliant collab AJ & Priyanka!! There's definitely lots of positive art-making vibes here to the point it got my creative juices flowing to take a class. Thank you Maureen! I highly recommend this art spot to the Yelp Community :-)